ilili 


//./o:oh 


^X  Wit  ^hcolagtar  & 


<^^  PRINCETON,  N.  J.  ^^ 


Purchased   by  the   Hamill   Missionary   Fund. 


l\llll,U^S\lll  F.    1826. 

1908. 
Questions  and  phases  of 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

OF 

MODERN  MISSIONS 


BY 


Frank  F.  Ellinwood,  D.  D.,  LL.D. 

Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Presby 
terian  Church,  U.  S.  A. 


AUTHOR  OF 

*'THE   GRtAT  CONQUEST." 

AND  "ORIENTAL  RELIGIONS  AND  CHRISTIANITY. 


$ 


NEW  YORK 

DODD,  MEAD  &  COMPANY 

1899 


Copyright,  1899, 

BY 

DoDD.  Mead  &  Company. 


PREFACE 


The  successive  chapters  of  this  book  are  topical 
and  claim  no  logical  order.  They  present  each  a 
different  aspect  of  Christian  missions.  The  facts 
and  principles  stated  are  the  result  of  many  years 
of  observation  in  the  practical  work  of  correspond- 
ence and  administration.  The  difficulties  and  en- 
couragements of  the  foreign  missionary  work  are 
fairly  considered,  though  with  a  growing  convic- 
tion that  the  various  elements  of  progress  which 
unite  in  the  one  great  world  movement  far  exceed 
all  obstacles. 

Some  of  the  chapters  deal  with  questions  of  mis- 
sionary policy.  The  age  of  romance  in  missions 
is  past,  and  the  plain  practical  service  must  be 
studied,  and  so  far  as  possible  the  best  methods 
must  be  devised.  It  would  be  strange  if  the  new 
century  now  about  to  open  should  not  reveal  the 
necessity  for  some  important  changes  in  adminis- 
tration and  in  the  forms  of  work  upon  the  field. 
It  is  to  be  hoped  that  as  compared  with  the  past 
**seed  sowing,"  the  work  of  harvest  may  have  a 
larger  place  than  heretofore,  and  that  chief  atten- 
tion may  be  given  to  enlarged  plans  and  enlarged 

ill 


PREFACE 

results.  Though  the  time  may  be  long  before  the 
often  expressed  desire  for  a  ''science  of  missions" 
shall  be  fully  realized,  yet  general  principles  of  pol- 
icy may  well  be  deduced  from  the  combined  ex- 
perience of  a  century,  and  in  the  development  of 
these  a  wise  system  of  missionary  economics  may 
be  attained. 

Other  chapters  relate  to  the  reflex  influence 
of  missions  upon  the  development  of  the  faith  and 
the  life,  of  the  church  at  home.  The  relations  of 
prayer  to  missions,  the  place  of  higher  education, 
and  the  influence  of  medical  missions  are  sever- 
ally discussed.  Something  of  an  apologetic  tone 
occasionally  appears  as  against  the  stock  criti- 
cisms of  the  times. 

The  design  of  the  author  in  this  grouping  of  dis- 
tinct topics,  has  been  to  show  the  place  and  setting 
of  the  great  missionary  enterprise,  as  seen  from 
different  angles  of  observation,  and  in  the  particu- 
lar environment  of  this  closing  decade  of  the  cen- 
tury. One  generation  later  the  whole  situation 
will  doubtless  be  greatly  changed.  The  tide  of  civi- 
lization will  be  far  advanced,  the  relations  of  coun- 
tries and  races  will  be  greatly  modified,  the  conflict 
of  different  systems  of  religion  and  philosophies 
will  have  become  more  general  and  more  decisive, 
the  means  of  communication  and  the  area  and  in- 
fluence of  secular  science  will  have  been  immensely 
increased.  Meanwhile  the  missionary  work  will  be 
far  better  understood  by  the  Church  and  by  Chris- 

iv 


PREFACE 

tian  nations.  Its  moral  and  intellectual  achieve- 
ments, its  relief  of  sickness  and  misfortune,  its  ele- 
vation of  the  degraded  and  oppressed,  its  far  reach- 
ing influence  for  good  upon  all  society  will  be  held 
at  their  true  value.  And  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  more 
adequate  provision  v^^ill  be  made  for  a  crusade 
which  is  charged  with  so  great  a  task. 

Part  second  relates  to  past  and  current  providen- 
tial movements  in  the  world,  and  their  value  as  co- 
operating agencies  in  the  progress  of  redemption. 
The  influence  of  discovery,  science,  commerce,  di- 
plomacy, is  recognized  as  having  acted  an  im- 
portant part  in  God's  broader  work.  While  the  suc- 
cess of  missions  in  the  highest  sense  must  depend 
on  the  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  renewing  the 
hearts  of  men,  and  while  the  specific  errand  of  the 
missionary  is  that  of  preaching  the  Gospel,  yet  the 
fact  must  be  recognized  that  in  the  divine  plan 
many  collateral  agencies  are  embraced.  The  mis- 
sionary's work  is  not  diplomacy,  but  God's  method 
includes  diplomacy,  and  even  the  overruling  of  na- 
tional strifes  on  the  battle  field.  Missionary  work 
has  little  to  do  with  commerce,  but  in  God's  plan 
commerce  often  becomes  the  handmaid  of  the  Gos- 
pel. The  development  of  agriculture  and  the 
opening  of  gold  fields,  new  channels  of  communica- 
tion, and  even  the  establishment  of  protectorates 
over  savage  and  partially  civilized  nations — all 
these  enter  into  the  one  great  movement  by  which 
the  kingdom  of  God  is  advanced. 


PREFACE 

It  has  been  one  of  the  mistakes  of  the  Church 
that  she  has  not  sufficiently  counted  upon  the  action 
and  cooperation  of  a  present  and  abiding  Provi- 
dence. Supernatural  forces  are  freely  recognized 
in  the  past,  but  current  history  is  assigned  to  nat- 
ural causes.  The  written  Gospel  of  the  First  Cen- 
tury is  indeed  the  wisdom  of  God  and  the  power  of 
God  unto  salvation,  but  that  is  not  all  of  the  divine 
resources.  We  have  the  deposit  of  truth  and  in- 
spiration given  nineteen  centuries  ago,  but  we  have 
also  a  living  Savior,  and  an  overruling  Spirit  whose 
superintendence  directs  human  progress  along  all 
lines. 

Those  whose  only  Gospel  is  that  of  social  evolu- 
tion have  at  least  the  advantage  of  recognizing  a 
present  active  force  however  impersonal.  They 
would  hesitate  to  affirm  that  the  developing  process 
is  the  result  of  anybody's  plan  or  purpose;  they  re- 
ject all  telcological  arguments  for  the  being  of  a 
personal  God,  and  yet  they  do  recognize  a  goal 
ahead,  a  manifest  destiny  of  the  race;  they  regard 
the  world  order  as  one.  Those  who  profess  belief 
in  a  supernatural  and  controlling  providence  ought 
with  at  least  equal  claims  to  regard  the  world  order 
as  one,  and  the  world  plan  as  one,  however  numer- 
ous and  varied  the  agencies  which  God  employs. 
The  Kings  of  Tarshish  and  of  the  isles  shall  bring 
presents.    Even  the  wrath  of  man  shall  praise  God. 

The  present  volume  deals  with  some  phases  of 
the  great  mission  problem  which  are  less  frequently 

vi 


PREFACE 

treated  in  the  current  missionary  literature,  but 
which,  nevertheless,  are  important  in  any  full  and 
adequate  view  of  the  subject.  It  is  hoped  that  while 
the  book  may  be  read  by  many  students  of  missions 
of  all  classes,  it  may  be  found  especially  helpful  to 
missionaries  on  the  field,  and  to  pastors  in  the  home 
churches.  On  the  pastors  rests  the  chief  task  of  in- 
teresting the  great  body  of  believers  in  the  procla- 
mation of  the  Gospel.  That  which  shall  furnish  the 
greatest  amount  of  material,  suggestion  and  in- 
spiration, for  the  missionary  sermon  is  what  is  most 
needed  at  the  present  time. 

The  book  is  undenominational,  though  it  is  em- 
phatically Protestant.  It  builds  upon  foundations 
which  are  emphatically  Biblical  and  evangelical, 
and  makes  no  compromises  of  essential  truth,  yet  it 
magnifies  charity  and  cooperation  in  the  common 
world-wide  work. 

It  has  not  been  thought  necessary  to  encumber 
the  text  with  references  and  foot  notes  and  citations 
of  authorities,  but  important  quotations  are  in- 
serted with  proper  credits  in  the  body  of  the  text. 
There  is  some  unavoidable  repetition  as  between 
different  chapters,  for  the  reason  that  the  same  facts 
or  principles  often  seem  necessary  to  the  illustra- 
tion of  different  subjects.  The  author  is  well  aware 
that  work  done  amid  the  distractions  of  a  pu])lic 
office  can  scarcely  be  quite  free  from  defects. 

R  R  ELLINWOOD. 

New  York,  July,  1899. 
vii 


Table  of  Contents 


PRESENT  HINDRANCES  TO  MISSIONS  AND  THEIR 
REMEDIES. 

Increased  interest  and  increased  opposition.  Genera! 
discussion  of  the  subject.  Hospitality  of  governments. 
Careful  avoidance  of  needless  antagonism.  Implied 
conflict  of  Christianity  with  ancestral  w^orship.  The 
difficulty  not  a  new  one.  Need  of  a  kind  and  sympathetic 
treatment.  Vague  ideas  of  human  "Brotherhood."  The 
higher  scriptural  view.  The  Parliament  of  Religions.  A 
just  understanding  of  non-Christian  religions.  Misconcep- 
tion of  the  character  and  the  volume  of  missionary  work. 
Effect  of  the  prevailing  doctrines  of  evolution  in  the  study 
of  races.  Influence  of  diplomacy.  Conflict  with  commerce. 
Race  antipathy.  i 

REFLEX  INFLUENCE  OF  FOREIGN  MISSIONS  ON 
THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 
The  New  Testament  a  missionary  volume.  The  best 
history  of  the  Church  is  that  of  its  missionary 
work.  Missions  as  illustrating  the  influence  of  high 
and  devoted  personality.  Its  illustration  of  a  Divine 
providence  in  the  world.  Its  relation  to  the  indispensable 
need  of  a  supernatural  power.  The  best  illustration  of  an 
altruistic  and  Christ-like  spirit  in  the  world.  Its  lessons 
in  comparative  national  ethics.  Best  manifestation  of 
Christian  union.     Relations  to  anthropological  science.     35 

THE  FOREIGN  MISSION  BOARD  A  UNIVERSITY  OF 
BENEFICENCE. 

It    organizes     and     supports     the    services    of    men    and 
women    in    preaching    and    t.^aching    the    Gospel  truths. 

iii 


iv  CONTENTS 

It  is  a  vast  Church  Erection  Society.  It  is  a  great 
bureau  of  education.  It  is  an  extensive  board  of  aid  in  se- 
curing the  erection  and  endowment  of  schools  and  colleges. 
It  is  a  great  publishing  establishment.  It  is  a  vast  medical 
and  eleemosynary  society.  56 

THE  PLACE  OF  HIGHER  EDUCATION  IN  MISSION- 
ARY WORK. 
Its  relations  to  governments.  Results  of  past  experi- 
ences. Its  influence  in  enkindling  secular  ambitions. 
The  effect  of  education  in  foreign  lands.  The  relations  of 
educational  to  evangelistic  work.  Personal  tendency  to 
magnify  the  latter.  The  need  of  training  leaders  to  grapple 
with  the  manifold  errors  of  the  mass.  The  relations  of 
missionary  training  to  science  and  speculation.  Its  re- 
lation to  social  and  national  ethics.  Illustrations  in  Japan. 
The  proportions  of  educational  and  evangelistic  work.  The 
relation  of  endowed  and  independent  institutions  to  those 
under  care  of  missionary  boards.  y6 

MEDICAL  MISSIONS. 

Their  scriptural  warrant.  Reasons  for  the  miracu- 
lous healing  of  apostolic  times.  The  influence  of 
medical  missions  in  opening  the  way  for  the  preach- 
ing of  the  Gospel,  as  illustrated  by  many  exam- 
ples. The  methods  which  warrant  and  commend 
medical  missions.  Peculiar  appeals  of  the  sick  and 
suff"ering  in  all  lands.  The  generous  examples  shown  in 
Christian  communities  in  the  support  of  hospitals  and  asy- 
lums. The  noble  work  of  the  Red  Cross  Society  as  an 
illustration  of  the  Christian  spirit.  The  good  accomplished 
in  medical  missions  in  educating  native  students  and  thus 
revolutionizing  the  medical  practice  of  the  world.  The  in- 
fluence of  medical  missions  in  delivering  mankind  from 
the  bondage  of  heathen  superstition,  especially  from  their 
slavish  fear  of  evil  spirits  and  the  false  practices  of  jug- 
glers. Dissipation  of  these  errors  by  the  spread  of  rational 
medical  science.  The  influence  of  medical  missions  in 
rectifying  the  social  wrongs  of  woman,  and  saving  the  lives 
of  her  children.    The  special  benefit  derived  from  the  freer 


CONTENTS  V 

access  of  medical  women  and  the  alleviation  of  the  miseries 
of  their  own  sex.  104 

THE  FAITH  ELEMENT  IN  MISSIONS. 

The  mission  work  dependent  upon  Divine  power,  and 
therefore  always  a  subject  of  prayer.  The  practice  of 
missionary  boards  in  making  their  appropriations  in  ad- 
vance, and  based  upon  their  faith  in  God  and  His  people. 
Diversity  of  opinion  in  regard  to  what  are  considered  pre- 
eminently faith  missions.  The  relation  of  faith  missions 
to  faith  healing.  The  work  of  the  late  Rev.  George  Muller 
at  home  and  abroad.  Methods  of  raising  money,  the  light 
of  apostolic  experience  in  this  regard.  Example  of  Paul 
and  other  apostles.  Medieval  mission  work.  Faith  limited 
to  a  particular  phase  or  department  of  work.  Risks  to  the 
health  of  families.  Need  of  kindly  discussion  and  Chris- 
tian charity  in  weighing  differences  of  opinion  and  of  prac- 
tice. 131 

FAITH  IN  ONE'S  STAR  AND  FAITH  IN  GOD. 

Prayer  as  an  element  of  missionary  heroism.  Paul's  ex- 
ample of  habitual  prayerfulness.  Experience  of  missionary 
heroes  in  different  ages  and  in  different  lands.  Living- 
stone's heroic  life  closed  with  prayer.  Reference  to  Nan- 
sen's  polar  expedition  as  described  in  "Farthest  North." 
Dr.  Felix  Adler's  commendation  of  his  heroism  and  sym- 
metry of  character  though  an  agnostic.  The  influence  of 
Nansen's  Christian  training  as  a  partial  explanation.  The 
higher  Christian  heroism  of  Rev.  Jacob  Chamberlain, 
D.  D.,  of  the  Arcott  Reformed  Mission,  as  shown  in  the 
tiger  jungle.  153 

A  BUDDHIST  DOCTRINE  OF  SALVATION  BY  FAITH. 
Original  Atheistic  teachings  of  Gautama.  Changes  in- 
troduced after  his  death.  Felt  need  of  a  Divine  helper  and 
hearer  of  prayer.  Bodisats  or  Buddhas  to  come.  Bud- 
dhist Trinities.  Northward  migrations  of  the  system. 
Changes  in  Nepoul,  Thibet,  China  and  Japan.  Semi-Theis- 
tic  tendencies.  Development  of  a  faith  element.  Distrust 
of  self-merit.    The  mystical   celestial   Buddha  Amitabha. 


vi  CONTENTS 

His  great  merit  sufficient  to  cover  the  sins  and  save  the 
souls  of  all  men.  Final  emergence  of  a  doctrine  of  a  vi- 
carious salvation  through  his  righteousness.  Remarkable 
approach  to  Christian  doctrines.  i66 

ANCIENT    HINDU   DOCTRINE   OF   SACRIFICE   AND 
THE  GOSPEL  OF  CHRIST. 

Sacrificial  elements  in  all  religions.  Their  special  promi- 
nence in  ancient  Brahmanism.  Reasons  vi^hy  the  modern 
Brahmans  of  the  Brahmo  Gamaj  discard  sacrifice  and  dis- 
own its  history.  The  real  teachings  of  the  Vedas  on  the 
subject.  The  testimony  adduced  by  Dr.  Martyn  Clark 
from  the  Vedas.  The  opinion  of  the  learned  Dr.  Mitra 
Lai  and  his  explanation  of  the  changes  in  the  position  of 
modern  Hinduism.  Former  human  sacrifices  of  peculiar 
value.  Ancient  foreshadowings  of  a  voluntary  Divine 
sacrifice  for  the  good  of  men.  Dr.  Clark's  use  of  the  fact 
in  preaching  Christ.  183 


PART  II 


The  chapters  embraced  in  part  second  relate  to  va- 
rious historic  events  which  illustrate  the  interven- 
tion of  the  divine  Providence  in  opening  various 
lands  to  the  progress  of  civil  and  religious  liberty 
and  the  advancement  of  Christ's  kingdom.       196 

NAPOLEONISM  IN  AMERICA. 

An  early  blow  to  the  Spanish  power  which  has  recently 
passed  away  from  the  Western  Hemisphere.  The  action 
of  Napoleon  I  in  proposing  the  transfer  of  Louisiana 
to  the  United  States  and  its  results.  The  dethronement 
of  Ferdinand  VII  of  Spain  and  crowning  of  his  brother 
as  king.  The  consequent  revolt  in  Mexico  and  all  the 
Spanish  states  of  Central  and  South  America  and  the 
establishment  of  republican  governments.  The  subsequent 
exchange  of  Texas  for  Florida  and  the  Spanish  claims  in 
Oregon.  The  revolution  in  Mexico  and  the  independence 
of  Texas.  The  annexation  of  Texas  and  the  acquisition  of 
New  Mexico,  Arizona,  Nevada  and  California  as  a  result 
of  the  war  of  Mexico. 

The  attempt  of  Napoleon  III  to  establish  a  monarchy  in 
Mexico  and  the  overruling  of  his  plans  for  the  establish- 
ment of  religious  liberty,  where  Napoleon  had  been  the 
unconscious  instrument  in  gaining  civil  liberty.  I97 

THE  REGENERATION  OF  MEXICO. 

The  first  revolt  in  Spanish-America  in  the  revolution  in 
Mexico  of  1810.  Consideration  of  the  general  character  of 
Mexico  and  its  people.  Reference  to  its  ancient  civilization 
and  religious  faith.  Continued  influence  of  the  aspect.  The 
three  centuries  following  the  Spanish  conquest.   The  intol- 

vii 


viii  CONTENTS 

erance  of  the  Mexican  hierarchy.  Struggles  for  liberty. 
War  of  the  dictator,  Santa  Anna,  with  Mexico  and  Yuca- 
tan. War  with  the  United  States  resulting  in  the  cession  of 
California.  Large  cessions  of  territory  made  by  the  treaty 
of  Guadaloupe  Hidalgo.  Struggles  of  the  Mexican  repub- 
lic with  the  Roman  Catholic  hierarchy.  The  ambitious 
schemes  of  Napoleon  III.  The  protest  of  the  United  States 
government.  The  fall  of  Maximilian  and  tragic  fate  of 
Carlotta.  The  re-establishment  of  the  Archbishop  Juarez. 
Confiscation  of  the  Catholic  Church  properties.  The  intro- 
duction and  influence  of  the  Bible.  213 

THE  DAWN  OF  HAWAH. 

The  early  condition  of  the  Hawaiian  Islands.  Introduc- 
tion of  the  Gospel  and  the  establishment  of  the  "so-called" 
Sandwich  Islands  Mission.  Its  connection  with  the  estab- 
lishment and  early  work  of  the  American  Board  of  Com- 
missioners for  Foreign  Missions.  The  school  at  Cornwall, 
Conn.,  for  the  education  of  Sandwich  Islanders  and  other 
heathen  youth.  Many  interesting  incidents  connected 
with  it.  The  life  and  death  of  Henry  Obookiah,  The  wide- 
spread interest  in  the  experiment.  The  difficulties  which 
it  encountered.  The  final  abandonment  of  the  plan  of  edu- 
cating heathen  youth  in  this  country.  The  inspiring  influ- 
ence which  the  institution  had  nevertheless  exerted  in  the 
creation  of  the  missionary  spirit.  240 

THE  ACQUISITION  OF  THE  SPANISH  COLONIES 
FROM  A  MISSIONARY  STANDPOINT. 
The  providential  character  of  the  issue  between  the  United 
States  and  Spain.  The  reluctance  of  the  United  States 
government  to  enter  upon  the  conflict.  The  leading  motives 
which  prevailed.  The  rapid,  remarkable  and  successful 
naval  victories,  and  their  immediate  influence  and  conse- 
quence with  respect  to  the  future  history  of  nations  and  of 
the  world.  The  apparent  evidences  of  providential  inter- 
ference broader  than  mere  human  plans.  The  relations  of 
these  conquests  to  the  work  of  the  world's  evangelization. 
The  paramount  duty  of  American  Christians  imposed  by 
the  new  possessions.  254 


CONTENTS  ix 


AN  ANGLO-SAXON  ALLIANCE  IN  FOREIGN  AIIS- 
SIONS. 
The  friendly  tone  of  the  British  press  with  respect  to  the 
war  of  the  United  States  with  Spain.  The  deep  and  often 
manifested  sympathy  shown  by  Christians  in  Great  Brit- 
ain and  her  colonies  toward  American  missions.  The  ad- 
vantage of  English  occupation  and  government  in  opening 
fields  and  granting  protection  to  American  missionaries. 
Great  future  work  of  Anglo-Saxon  missions.  270 


MODERN  MISSIONS 


PRESENT    HINDRANCES    TO    MISSIONS 
AND  THEIR  REMEDIES 

The  cause  of  foreign  missions  is  manifestly 
growing  in  favor  with  its  friends,  and  possibly  in 
disfavor  with  its  enemies  and  critics.  The  number 
of  its  friends  is  steadily  increasing  from  year  to 
year.  They  are  greatly  reinforced  from  the  ranks  of 
the  young.  The  prayers  of  Christian  mothers  who 
have  been  enlisted  in  the  work  of  foreign  missions 
for  the  last  twenty-five  years  have  been  answered, 
not  only  on  the  mission  fields,  but  in  the  enlarged 
knowledge  and  quickened  interest  of  their  own  sons 
and  daughters  here  at  home.  The  student  volun- 
teer movement,  inter-seminary  missionary  conven- 
tions, and  Christian  Endeavor  societies  are  the  re- 
sults. And  very  naturally  under  such  circumstances 
an  increased  interest  is  taken  by  many  pastors  and 
churches ;  and  the  preaching  of  an  earnest  mission- 
ary sermon,  or  the  holding  of  a  missionary  congress 
in  synod  or  conference,  is  a  much  more  frequent 
occurrence  than  formerly.     Theological  instruction 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

in  our  seminaries  has  never  before  placed  so  much 
emphasis  on  the  work  of  foreign  missions. 

But  on  the  other  hand  there  is  also  an  increase  in 
the  forces  opposed  to  missions.  The  enemies  of  the 
cause  are  multiplied ;  they  are  more  outspoken ;  they 
are  more  inventive  of  objections ;  they  are  more  bit- 
ter ;  and  this,  perhaps,  for  the  reason  that  the  work 
has  assumed  greater  proportions,  and  by  its  success 
has  challenged  increased  attention  among  intelligent 
men  and  women  of  all  classes.  The  secular  maga- 
zines and  newspapers  have  found  it  worth  while  to 
discuss  the  subject — its  progress — its  economics — 
its  diplomatic  bearings — the  burden  and  bother  of  it 
to  western  governments.  This  conflict  of  opinion 
is  an  old  one,  but  it  has  some  new  elements.  Now, 
as  never  before,  the  battle  of  truth  with  error  is  on. 
And  it  is,  on  the  whole,  auspicious  that  this  world- 
wide crusade  of  the  Christian  church  has  at  least 
won  the  attention  of  the  general  public ;  and  that  it 
is,  and  will  continue  to  be,  thoroughly  and  unspar- 
ingly discussed. 

Every  great  enterprise  depending  at  all  upon  hu- 
man sagacity  requires  an  occasional  re-examination. 
To  admit  this  is  no  confession  of  failure ;  it  may  be 
only  a  means  to  a  fuller  appreciation  of  past  success. 
The  work  of  Christian  missions  ''after  a  century,"  to 
limit  ourselves  to  the  modern  movement,  calls  for 
such  a  review.  It  opens  the  way  for  a  broader 
intelligence,  possibly  for  improved  methods.  The 
anti-mission  tirade  has  become  a  popular  fad,  be- 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

cause,  pertaining  to  interests  at  a  safe  distance,  it 
can  be  exploited  by  men  of  little  brains  and  still  less 
accurate  information.  The  only  remedy  must  be 
found  in  the  diffusion  of  full,  accurate,  and  general 
knowledge.  Some  of  the  stock  criticisms  are  amus- 
ing and  often  fatal  solvents  of  each  other.  Accord- 
ing to  one,  the  fellow-mortal  to  whom  we  offer  "our 
religion"  as  a  substitute  for  his  own,  will  feel  in- 
sulted and  injured  because  he  is  already  a  brother  in 
full  sympathy  with  our  every  truly  religious  aspira- 
tion; but  another  insists  that  we  shall  find  him  desti- 
tute of  any  dimmest  conception  of  God,  or  any  re- 
ligious emotion,  and  that  he  will  probably  end  our 
interview  by  adding  us  to  his  larder  for  a  cannibal 
feast.  Men  and  women  who  know  nothing  of  our 
own  Anglo-Saxon  history  will  declare  oracularly 
that  it  is  impossible  that  a  great  nation  shall  change 
its  religion;  and  those  who  never  knew  the  reflex 
blessing  of  giving  for  any  unselfish  object,  are  sure 
that  the  work  of  missions  tends  to  impoverish  the 
Church  and  the  country.  Many  of  these  current 
cavils  may  pass  without  notice.  They  have  been  an- 
swered many  times,  though  as  new  generations  of 
ignorance  are  constantly  springing  up  they  will  be 
repeated  indefinitely  by  those  who  hate  the  cause  of 
missions  or  desire  a  pretext  for  neglecting  it. 

I  propose  in  this  discussion  to  inquire  what  are 
some  of  the  more  formidable  obstacles  which  con- 
front this  great  enterprise  in  this  closing  decade  of 
the  century,  and  how  they  are  to  be  met.     Some  of 

3 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

these  are  not  new,  others  are,  or  at  least  they  have 
come  into  new  prominence. 

(i)  One  difficulty  which  threatens  the  future 
work  of  missions  appears  in  the  alarm  manifested  by 
Oriental  governments  at  the  success  of  the  Christian 
propaganda.  Roman  emperors  like  Marcus  Aure- 
lius  sincerely  believed  that  the  extension  of  Chris- 
tianity in  their  time  meant  the  overthrow,  not  merely 
of  moribund  superstitions,  but  of  the  whole  political 
and  social  fabric  of  Roman  society.  And  if  we  place 
ourselves  in  the  position  of  the  Turk  or  other  Mos- 
lem rulers,  it  will  not  be  difficult  to  understand  how 
the  multiplication  of  Protestant  schools  and 
churches,  the  revolution  of  koranic  ideas  of  wom- 
an's position,  and  the  general  diffusion  of  a  higher 
code  of  ethics  might  seem  fatal  to  Mohammedan 
civilization;  and  it  would  not  be  strange  if  just  in 
proportion  to  the  success  of  Christian  missions  the 
opposition  of  Moslem  rulers  should  become  more 
pronounced.  To  a  greater  or  less  extent  the  anti- 
foreign  spirit  in  Japan  may  find  a  similar  explana- 
tion. Japanese  Buddhists  have  not  been  so  active 
and  aggressive  for  centuries  as  they  are  at  the  pres- 
ent time.  In  Japan,  however,  the  great  truth  is 
recognized  that  freedom  of  thought  is  the  condition 
of  progress,  and  that  all  systems  of  faith  or  philoso- 
phy must  wage  their  conflicts  in  an  open  field. 

Now  these  peculiar  elements  in  the  missionary 
problem  require  peculiar  treatment.  There  should 
be  candor  in  admitting  whatever  is  good  in  national 

4 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

faiths  or  customs,  and  an  avoidance  of  indiscrim- 
inate denunciation,  and  of  whatever  tends  to  the  dis- 
loyalty or  the  denationalization  of  non-Christian 
peoples.  The  best  of  causes  may  sometimes  learn 
wisdom  and  discretion  from  the  antagonisms  which 
it  encounters.  There  is  nothing  so  good  in  this 
world,  that  it  may  not  be  misapprehended  and 
abused.  Even  Paul's  resolve,  to  know  nothing  save 
Christ  and  Him  crucified,  may  be  perverted  by  the 
missionary  into  an  excuse  for  his  ignorance  of  some 
things  which  he  ought  to  know.  No  enterprise  re- 
quires greater  tact,  a  more  generous  courtesy,  a  finer 
sense  of  what  is  due  to  the  moral  sensibilities  of 
those  whom  we  would  win  from  error,  or  a  more 
just  recognition  of  one's  proper  relations  to  the  gov- 
ernments under  which  he  lives.  No  one  on  a  mod- 
ern mission  field  should  attempt  the  role  of  a  Jehu 
or  a  Luther  or  a  John  Knox:  the  environment  is 
different:  the  example  of  Paul  who  taught  allegi- 
ance to  the  existing  ''powers"  is  far  safer.  Serious 
evils  have  sometimes  resulted  from  a  misjudged  and 
mistaken  zeal  just  here.  Those  Roman  Catholic  mis- 
sionaries in  Shantung  who  are  said,  on  good  au- 
thority, to  offer  to  all  converts  protection  backed  by 
the  fear  of  French  gunboats,  against  the  local  mag- 
istrates, are  guilty  not  only  of  moral  dereliction  but 
of  a  suicidal  folly.  A  recent  Chinese  Minister  at 
Washington,  Pung  Quang  Yu,  in  a  paper  presented 
at  the  Parliament  of  Religions  in  Chicago,  very 
justly  complained  of  the  many  instanQCS  in   which 

5 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

missions,  backed  by  their  governments,  had  pressed 
the  rights  of  their  native  converts  against  the  juris- 
diction of  the  local  authorities  of  their  own  land; 
and  he  condemned  this  mistaken  and  unjust  policy 
as  a  fatal  barrier  to  missionary  success.  The  true 
aim  of  the  missionary  is  to  labor  loyally  and  judi- 
ciously, not  for  the  overthrow  of  governments,  but 
for  that  enlightenment  which  shall  render  the  people 
better  subjects  and  the  governments  themselves 
more  just  and  humane.  This  would  have  converted 
Marcus  Aurelius  as  well  as  his  subjects,  and  he  cer- 
tainly would  have  made  a  far  better  Christian  than 
Constantine,  or  Vladimir,  or  Olaf  Tryggvisen. 

(2)  Another  difficulty  in  the  way  of  missionary 
success  among  Oriental  nations  lies  in  the  conflict 
which  by  implication  Christianity  presents  with  the 
prevalent  worship  of  ancestors.  In  China  this  filial 
reverence  amounts  to  a  religion ;  and  among  the  edu- 
cated classes  it  is  about  the  only  religion.  In  India 
the  ceremonial  sradda  performed  for  the  peace  of  a 
departed  father  is  one  of  the  most  sacred  of  all  reli- 
gious duties.  Now,  however  vague  the  conceptions 
of  the  Chinese  Confucianist,  or  the  Hindu  pantheist, 
may  be  concerning  the  condition  of  the  dead,  Christi- 
anity teaches  him  that  the  souls  of  his  revered  father 
and  all  his  long  line  of  ancestors  are  still  living,  and 
as  they  knew  nothing  of  salvation  by  Jesus  Christ 
the  implication  is  that  they  are  forever  lost.  This  is 
indeed  a  tremendous  stone  of  stumbling.  When  in 
the  first  century  A.  D.,  Buddhism  was  preached  and 

6 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

accepted  in  China  it  also  taught  that  the  debt  of 
moral  evil  must  be  paid  in  the  life  to  come,  but  it  did 
not  present  the  issue  so  sharply.  It  did  not  judge 
men  with  regard  to  a  definite  and  hopeless  defi- 
ciency. It  taught  simply  that  a  man's  sowing,  of 
whatever  kind,  must  bring  forth  a  corresponding 
harvest.  And,  moreover,  the  doctrine  of  transmi- 
gration offered  many  future  chances;  while  accord- 
ing to  the  logic  of  the  Christian  missionary  the  one 
probation  of  the  unblest  ancestor  was  final.  It  is  not 
well  to  underestimate  this  offense  of  the  Cross  of 
Christ  as  it  appears  to  a  Mongolian.  An  intelligent 
appreciation  of  it  will  beget  a  prayerful  sympathy 
for  the  missionary  and  his  heavy  task.  But  what  I 
wish  particularly  to  meet  is  the  flippant  cavil  of  those 
who,  with  no  interest  in  religion  of  any  kind,  have 
made  the  most  of  this  particular  plea  in  their  assail- 
ments  of  the  work  of  missions,  as  if  they  alone  had 
thought  of  it.  Missionaries  have  pondered  it  more 
thoroughly  and  felt  it  a  thousand  times  more  deeply 
than  any  critic,  but  instead  of  laying  aside  their  work 
they  have  been  stirred  to  greater  diligence.  When 
Dr.  Hunter  Corbett  was  called  upon  some  years  ago 
by  a  church  elder  who,  with  eyes  swollen  with  weep- 
ing, told  him  half  apologetically,  that  he  had  been 
praying  all  night  for  his  deceased  father  who  had 
never  heard  of  Christ,  the  missionary's  heart  was 
stirred  to  its  profoundest  depths.  And  when  the 
poor  man,  still  weeping,  reproached  the  Christian 
world  for  having  so  long  withheld  the  glad  tidings 

7 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

which  it  had  possessed  for  nearly  two  thousand 
years,  the  natural  inference  from  his  rebuke  cer- 
tainly was  not  that  it  should  incur  the  guilt  of  a  still 
longer  delay,  but  rather  that  it  should  fulfil  the  long 
neglected  duty  with  ever-increasing  zeal. 

There  are  many  sad  mysteries  in  the  past  history 
of  this  world.  Science  presents  even  more  of  them 
than  Revelation.  The  sceptical  philosopher  dis- 
courses calmly  upon  the  enormous  waste  of  life 
which  the  doctrine  of  evolution  supposes;  he  con- 
templates serenely  the  carnival  of  death  in  which  for 
"millions  of  years"  the  strong  have  devoured  the 
weak ;  he  approves  the  continuance  of  the  same  ruth- 
less conflict  by  man  against  man  during  the  long 
ages  of  his  prehistoric  career,  and  he  finds  the  final 
cause,  the  justification  for  all  this,  in  the  higher  es- 
tate of  our  present  manhood. 

But  the  Christian  church  cannot  adopt  this  op- 
timistic view  of  the  past.  It  recognizes  the  mystery 
overhanging  the  bygone  ages  of  the  world,  and 
while  it  believes  that  the  "world  order"  as  a  whole 
is  infinitely  wise  and  benevolent  in  the  mind  of  Him 
who  encompasses  the  ages  and  to  whom  a  thousand 
years  are  but  as  one  day  and  one  day  as  a  thousand 
years,  yet  it  is  taught  to  believe  "that  the  whole  crea- 
tion groaneth  and  travaileth  in  pain  together  until 
now,"  waiting  for  the  full  appearing  of  Him  who  is 
the  world's  Light  and  Life.  Moreover,  it  believes 
that  a  knowledge  of  God  which  was  once  revealed 
to  men  has  been  set  aside  by  the  Gentile  nations  who 

8 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

have  worshiped  the  creature  more  than  the  Crea- 
tor, and  that  this  fact,  were  there  no  other,  has  de- 
layed and  still  delays  the  full  manifestation  of  the 
Son  of  God.  The  plea  that  the  sad  implication  of 
Christian  doctrine  should  constitute  a  reason  for  de- 
sisting from  missionary  effort,  for  the  present  gen- 
eration in  China  or  elsewhere,  involves  an  argument 
which  proves  too  much.  It  would  block  the  preach- 
ing of  the  Gospel  everywhere  except  to  the  children 
of  saints.  For  the  past  history  of  the  human  race 
this  generation  is  not  responsible ;  but  for  those  who 
believe  in  Christ  as  the  only  Savior  of  men  there  is 
no  option.  What  degrees  of  light  the  Spirit  of  God 
may  have  imparted  to  men  of  past  ages,  or  what  may 
be  the  number  of  those,  who,  having  ''by  patient  con- 
tinuance in  well  doing"  sought  "glory  and  immor- 
tality," have  found  "eternal  life"  through  the  blood 
of  Christ,  we  cannot  know.  We  only  know  that  to- 
day we  have  a  distinct  message  to  offer,  a  more  sure 
word  of  prophecy,  Christ  evidently  set  forth  cruci- 
fied among  men.  The  wise  missionary  will  not  dwell 
upon  the  condition  of  dead  ancestors,  but  will  lov- 
ingly present  the  offer  of  redemption  to  the  living. 

Experience  shows  that  the  common  people  in 
China  and  elsewhere  receive  the  offer  gladly,  and  to 
the  literati,  the  Pharisees  of  China,  the  inference  to 
be  drawn  concerning  ancestors  is  not  more  distaste- 
ful than  was  the  preaching  of  Christ  to  the  Pharisees 
of  Judea,  whose  ancestors  had  embraced  idolatry 
even  after  having  knov/n  the  truth,  and  stoned  the 

9 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

prophets  who  had  been  sent  to  reclaim  them.  Nor 
are  the  impHcations  of  the  Gospel  message  now  at 
all  different  from  what  they  were  when  Paul  pro- 
claimed the  same  doctrines  to  the  proud  sages  of 
Athens,  and  to  the  whole  heathen  world  of  his  time. 
The  proclamation  of  the  truth  has  always  presented 
the  same  alternatives  as  a  savior  of  life  and  death, 
and  any  alleged  reasons  why  it  should  not  be  pro- 
claimed to  heathen  nations  now,  might  have  been 
urged  in  the  Middle  Ages  against  all  Christian  effort 
among  our  ancestors,  the  Norsemen  and  the  Druid 
Celts. 

(3)  The  work  of  missions  suffers  in  our  time 
from  the  prevalence  of  a  sentimental  and  meaning- 
less plea  for  the  brotherhood  of  men  and  father- 
hood of  God.  This  seems  very  plausible  and  even 
Christ-like.  It  poses,  however,  as  the  very  opposite 
of  ''traditional  Christianity,"  and  chides  its  alleged 
narrowness  and  bigotry.  It  is  a  brotherhood  to  be 
obtained  not  by  transformation  and  elevation  of 
character,  but  by  the  elimination  of  all  the  more 
salient  and  distinctive  elements  in  the  faiths  and  cus- 
toms of  men.  It  is  a  leveler  which  virtually  demol^ 
ishes;  yet  it  passes  for  a  beneficent  gospel  of  love, 
the  very  highest  attainment  of  this  advanced  age.  It 
was  not  first  preached  on  the  platform  of  the  Chi- 
cago Parliament  of  Religions;  it  had  already  been 
proclaimed  by  the  late  Cheshub  Chunder  Sen,  of  the 
Indian  Brahmo  Somaj,  who  in  a  published  appeal 
invited  all  religionists  of  the  world  to  unite  in  "One 

10 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

Theistic  Church  of  the  New  Dispensation  which  is 
in  Calcutta."  Somewhat  later  the  gifted  Hindu, 
Mohini  Chatter ji,  translator  of  the  Bhagavad  Gita, 
took  the  same  broad  and  seemingly  generous 
ground,  admitting  that  Jesus  as  well  as  Krishna  was 
probably  an  incarnation  of  Vishnu.  Mr.  P.  C.  Mo- 
zoomdar,  disciple  and  successor  of  Chunder  Sen, 
after  listening  to  the  appeals  for  universal  brother- 
hood at  Chicago,  informed  the  audience  that  they 
were  only  taking  the  ground  which  the  Brahmo 
Somaj  had  advocated  for  half  a  century. 

Now  any  theory  of  brotherhood  embracing  all 
faiths  of  men  without  distinction,  welcoming  the 
purest  and  the  most  degrading  systems,  however  an- 
tagonistic their  principles  and  however  hostile  their 
spirit,  must  be  fatal  to  the  fundamental  conception 
of  Christian  missions.  For,  if  men  are  all  that  they 
should  be  and  only  need  mutually  to  recognize  that 
fact,  what  necessity  is  there  for  a  gospel  of  salva- 
tion? If  monotheism  can  be  at  one  with  polytheism, 
if  Buddhism  can  fraternize  with  the  Christian  doc- 
trine of  the  Trinity,  if  the  fierce  Moslem  Turks  and 
Koords  can  really  be  made  to  love  the  Armenian 
Christians  by  the  rhetorical  enthusiasm  of  a  con- 
venticle, all  men  will  no  doubt  rejoice  in  the  blessed 
consummation.  But  the  outlook  was  in  fact  never 
less  promising  than  now.  Christianity  with  its  mis- 
sions is  not  the  only  obstacle  in  the  way  of  the  all- 
embracing  ^'Universal  Religion."  No  one  of  the 
great  faiths  is  ready  for  an  amalgamation:   Confu- 

II 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

cianists  would  spurn  the  idea :  Mohammedans  would 
trample  on  it  with  contempt.  The  harm  done  at  the 
parliament  was  due  not  to  the  presentation  of  all 
faiths  by  their  adherents,  but  to  the  hasty  conclu- 
sions, the  childish  adulation,  the  unthinking  gush, 
which  in  one  instance,  at  least,  was  carried  to  a  dis- 
gusting extreme.  Nobody  had  changed  his  opinions. 
The  old  systems  stiffened  by  the  lapse  of  centuries 
still  sat  there  side  by  side  all  unchanged  and  un- 
moved. As  well  might  one  have  expected  to  witness 
a  loving  embrace  of  the  Memnonian  statues,  or 
scenes  of  pentecostal  transformation  and  ecstacy 
among  the  mouldering  pillars  of  Karnac,  as  to  see 
Hinduism  and  Islam  fused  together  in  an  hour. 
Even  in  India,  Chunder  Sen's  appeal  has  attracted 
scarcely  3,000  out  of  a  population  of  280,000,000. 
Mohammed  Webb  came  straight  back  from  the  Par- 
liament of  Religions,  and  Baalak-like  hired  a  rene- 
gade Syrian  to  "curse  Jacob"  on  the  platform  of 
Chickering  Hall.  Gandhi  and  Vivekananda  began  at 
once  courses  of  lectures  against  missions  and  Chris- 
tianity. Others  returned  to  India  and  Japan  and  an- 
nounced that  America  seemed  ready  to  confess  the 
superiority  of  the  Oriental  faiths. 

This  notion  of  a  universal  religion  has  undergone 
some  modification  under  the  auspices  of  what  is 
known  as  the  ''Parliament  Extension."  It  is  pro- 
posed to  unite  all  men  of  whatever  race  or  cult  in  one 
church  universal,  with  monism  as  the  one  article  of 
its  creed.  One  of  the  latest  forms  of  monism  is  inter- 

12 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

preted  to  mean  the  divine  immanence  of  pantheism, 
plus  transcendence,  plus  divine  personality.  But 
monism,  whatever  else  it  is,  is  in  this  relation  only  a 
common  catch-word.  There  can  be  no  brotherhood 
without  unity  of  religious  faith.  Nowhere  short  of 
that  can  the  moral  goal  of  mankind  be  placed.  A 
half-way  ground,  a  truce,  a  compromise,  where  truth 
is  concerned,  is  a  sacrifice  of  man's  true  birthright, 
and  an  insult  to  God.  Meanwhile  the  assumption 
that  Christianity  occupies  a  lower  or  narrower 
ground  than  this  new  gospel,  is  as  far  as  possible 
from  the  truth.  Even  in  the  common  brotherhood  of 
humanity  the  teaching  of  the  New  Testament  took 
the  lead  of  all  the  best  and  noblest  philosophy  of 
Greece  and  Rome.  Instead  of  the  wide  and  cruel  dis- 
tinctions which  even  Plato  had  inculcated,  it  taught 
men  to  regard  the  lowest  ranks  and  even  slaves  as 
entitled  to  human  fellowship.  Christ  broke  down  the 
narrow  nationalism  of  the  Pharisees  by  His  recog- 
nition of  Samaritans,  Romans,  and  Syrophenicians. 
Peter  first  proclaimed  the  great  truth  that  God  is  no 
respecter  of  persons.  Paul  gave  to  the  dictum  of 
Aratus  a  world-wide  application  which  made  all 
mankind  the  "offspring"  of  a  common  father.  From 
the  days  of  Paul  to  the  present  time,  Christianity  has 
held  the  lead  in  all  practical  philanthropy.  To-day 
the  Christian  church  is  the  chief  organized  charity 
of  the  world  for  even  humanitarian  work.  It  sends 
relief  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  in  time  of  famine :  its 
hospitals  and  asylums  are  found  in  all  latitudes  and 

13 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

climes:  Protestants  and  Catholics  vie  with  each 
other  everywhere  in  the  care  of  the  sick,  the  orphan 
and  the  leper;  and  on  the  bloody  battlefields  of  the 
world  their  angels  of  mercy  appear  amid  the  smoke 
and  confusion  of  war  and  under  the  sacred  banner 
of  the  Cross. 

But  there  are  brotherhoods  and  brotherhoods,  and 
the  New  Testament  recognizes  each  in  its  place. 
Paul  regarded  Onesimus  as  entitled  to  fraternal  rec- 
ognition while  still  a  non-Christian  slave,  and  his 
kindness  won  his  heart  and  led  him  to  the  truth.  But 
he  had  something  quite  different  in  mind  when  he 
plead  with  his  master  Philemon,  to  regard  him  no 
longer  as  a  servant  but  as  a  * 'brother  in  Christ" — a 
brother  in  the  divine  fellowship  of  a  common  faith 
and  a  common  union  with  God.  No  platform  procla- 
mation could  have  wrought  this  change,  nor  can  it 
change  any  man  or  any  race  of  men.  The  Christian 
church  prefers  Paul's  plan  to  that  of  the  Parliament 
Extension.  Almost  any  faith  having  even  a  modi- 
cum of  moral  power  is  better  than  a  vapid  emulsion 
of  faiths  and  no  faiths. 

This  plea  for  a  universal  brotherhood  of  religions 
has  been  reinforced  by  the  plausible  claim  that  some 
at  least  of  the  great  religions  are  all  that  is  essential 
for  the  races  that  cherish  them,  and  that  so  far  cer- 
tainly, missions  are  worse  than  useless.  The  practi- 
cal effect  of  this  claim  is  increased  by  the  fact  that 
the  average  knowledge  of  our  Christian  communi- 
ties concerning  these  faiths  is  too  slight  to  afford  a 

14 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

successful  refutation.  But  it  were  an  error  to  as- 
sume, as  many  do,  that  systems  of  religion  which  the 
Christian  world  does  not  thoroughly  understand,  are 
for  that  reason  any  more  likely  to  prove  true  or 
worthy.  The  masses  of  our  people  have  based  their 
judgment  upon  the  opinions  of  those  who  do  un- 
derstand them.  When  in  the  Chicago  Parliament  of 
Religions,  Darmapala  of  Ceylon,  called  for  an  ex- 
pression from  all  who  had  "read  the  life  of  Buddha," 
and  was  responded  to  by  only  five,  he  put  the  test 
question  in  a  misleading  form,  and  the  response  was 
therefore  misleading.  According  to  the  best  scholar- 
ship there  is  no  life  of  Buddha:  no  connected  bio- 
graphy has  descended  to  us  from  the  early  canons. 
Had  the  speaker  called  for  all  those  who  knew  more 
or  less  of  Buddhism  and  of  the  settled  verdict  which 
the  history  of  the  ages  had  put  upon  it,  he  might 
have  been  answered  by  hundreds. 

Time  and  space  forbid  that  I  should  here  enter 
upon  the  question  whether  Buddhism  is  all  that  is 
claimed  for  it  as  a  sufficient  "Light  of  Asia,"  or 
whether  Mohammedanism  has  proved  a  blessing  to 
North  Africa,  or  is  now  a  blessing  to  Armenia  or 
Koordistan.  Even  if  we  were  to  grant  this  claim, 
which  just  now  appears  more  preposterous  than 
ever,  even  if  it  were  true  that  the  philosophies  which 
appeal  to  the  more  intellectual  classes  in  the  Orient 
are  all  that  is  alleged,  and  all  that  is  needful  for  their 
eternal  weal,  yet  what  shall  be  done  for  the  untold 
millions  of  men  who  find  these  subtle  philosophies 

15 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

beyond  their  reach,  and  whose  plodding  and  un- 
reasoning Hves  are  scarcely  above  the  life  of  the 
brute? 

If  we  admit  that  the  literati  of  China  have  reason 
to  be  satisfied  with  the  Analects  of  Confucius,  yet 
what  of  the  millions,  in  fact  the  majority  of  the  Chi- 
nese masses,  who  are  real  spirit  worshipers — to 
whom  the  forests,  the  rivers,  the  mountains  are  all 
haunted  by  animistic  hobgoblins,  and  who  drag  out 
their  lives  under  the  invisible  spell  of  ^'fungshuay !" 
What  if  we  admit  that  in  India  there  are  thousands 
of  learned  Vedantists  and  a  few  thousand  mem- 
bers of  the  somajes  who  need  no  further  light,  yet 
what  of  the  hundred  and  thirty  or  forty  millions  of 
whom  Mr.  Mozoomdar  himself  has  said  that  they 
know  nothing  of  philosophy  of  any  kind?  What- 
ever may  be  said  of  those  who  worship  the  Krishna 
of  the  Bhagavad,  who  shall  save  the  degraded  wor- 
shipers of  Krishna  as  the  god  of  lust,  or  those  who 
worship  cattle  and  apes  and  serpents  ?  Or  if  we  were 
to  exclude  all  of  India,  China  and  Japan,  there  would 
still  be  dark  pagan  Africa,  which  even  down  to  the 
close  of  this  nineteenth  century  has  remained  terror- 
stricken  by  a  perpetual  nightmare  of  cruel  supersti- 
tions. Such  witnesses  as  Leighton  Wilson,  R.  H. 
Nassau,  Heli  Chatelain  and  A.  C.  Good  have  as- 
sured us  that  the  many  tribes  occupying  the  vast  ter- 
ritory extending  from  two  degrees  north  of  the 
equator  down  to  Caffraria  are  believers  in  the  one 
supreme  and  self-existent  creator,  ''Anyambe,"  or 

i6 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

"Njambe,"  or  "Nzambe."  But  they  do  not  worship 
this  being  because  they  have  for  ages  been  taught  by 
jugglers  that  their  creator  cares  nothing  for  them, 
but  has  left  them  at  the  mercy  of  countless  malignant 
spirits.  These  spirits  oppress  and  torment  the  peo- 
ple either  directly  or  through  the  personality  of  men 
and  women  whom  they  possess  as  witches.  When- 
ever a  natural  death  occurs,  somebody  is  at  once  ac- 
cused of  having  been  the  cause  and  the  accused  must 
die  also.  This  state  of  things  fills  every  community 
with  perpetual  horror;  it  redoubles  all  the  woes  of 
life,  and  fills  every  mind  not  only  with  a  dread  of 
malignant  demons,  but  with  suspicions  toward 
friends  and  neighbors  and  even  kindred.  Let  me  ap- 
peal to  every  thoughtful  mind,  is  there  or  is  there  not 
here  a  call  for  the  work  of  Christian  missions?  Even 
on  the  ground  of  a  common  humanity,  should  not 
the  philanthropic  of  all  favored  lands  and  all  creeds 
come  to  the  rescue  of  these  millions?  To  the  hu- 
manitarian, however  skeptical  and  out  of  sympathy 
with  Christian  propagandism,  this  appeal  speaks 
with  resistless  force,  while  to  the  true  Christian, 
"Darkest  Africa"  presents  a  practical  illustration  of 
that  awful  thraldom  which  Christ  meant  when  He 
commissioned  Paul  to  the  Gentiles,  ''to  turn  them 
from  darkness  to  light  and  from  the  power  of  satan 
(in  this  case  satans)  unto  God."  How  urgent  and 
noble  an  errand  to  assure  those  deluded  millions  that 
Anyambe  has  not  abandoned  them  to  demons,  but 


17 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

has  so  loved  them  as  to  give  His  Son  a  sacrifice  that 
they  may  have  eternal  life ! 

(4)  While  dealing  thus  plainly  with  the  imprac- 
ticable theory  of  a  fusion  of  all  religions  under  the 
name  of  brotherhood,  I  frankly  admit  another  obsta- 
cle which  has  sometimes  prevented  the  highest  mis- 
sionary success.  In  a  sermon  preached  in  Westmin- 
ster Abbey  by  Dean  Stanley  in  1872,  he  gave  seven 
different  reasons  for  increased  encouragement  in  the 
v/ork  of  foreign  missions,  one  of  which  was  that 
the  Christian  world  was  coming  to  understand  more 
clearly  the  nature  of  heathen  systems  and  the  true 
methods  of  dealing  with  them.  The  church  in  this 
country  was  not  quite  ready  to  adopt  Dean  Stanley's 
position  at  that  time ;  it  is,  however,  much  better  pre- 
pared to  approve  of  it  to-day.  If  the  advocates  of 
universal  fraternity  meant  only  a  more  fraternal 
spirit,  in  dealing  with  non-Christian  systems,  in  re- 
specting the  sincere  convictions  of  men  however  er- 
roneous, in  allowing  and  crediting  whatever  of  truth 
they  have  to  present,  in  recognizing  their  ethical 
standards  which  are  in  some  respects  high,  in  en- 
couraging their  love  of  country  and  race,  in  welcom- 
ing them  to  a  common  fellowship  as  the  children  of 
a  common  Father,  in  avoiding  denunciation,  and 
winning  them  in  a  spirit  of  love ;  we  too  would  join 
hands  with  all  others  in  promoting  such  an  object. 
It  is  true  that  the  Christian  church  has  been  more 
or  less  at  fault.  Missionaries  have  sometimes  seemed 
to  suppose  that  the  most  successful  plan  was  to  cut 

18 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

up  heathenism  by  the  roots.  It  has  scarcely  been 
thought  necessary  to  know  anything  about  what  the 
non-Christian  peoples  believe  or  disbelieve.,  since  the 
one  aim  is  to  tell  the  "old,  old  story,"  and  to  cast 
aside  contemptuously  whatever  shall  hinder  its  pro- 
gress and  triumph. 

But  I  am  by  no  means  admitting  that  missionary 
work  has  been  at  fault  in  the  main.  With  some  ex- 
ceptions, it  has  been  from  first  to  last  a  work  of  love 
fully  attested  by  the  sacrifices  which  have  been  so 
freely  made.  Yet  there  is  a  change,  and  it  will  be 
more  and  more  marked.  Missionary  addresses  will 
not  hereafter  be  illustrated  by  the  exhibition  of  idols 
and  other  evidences  of  depravity  (intelligent  Hindus 
and  Buddhists  have  indignantly  pointed  to  the  im- 
ages and  pictures  of  the  church)  ;  on  the  contrary 
there  will  be  more  of  the  tact  Paul  used  when  he 
referred  to  the  altar  to  the  unknown  god.  This  will 
not  be  a  new  method;  it  will  simply  be  a  return  to 
the  New  Testament  plan ;  to  the  delicacy  exemplified 
by  Christ  Himself;  to  the  uniform  kindliness  with 
which  the  apostles  proclaimed  the  truth.  I  do  not 
forget  that  in  the  Old  Testament,  denunciation  and 
even  ridicule,  were  poured  upon  the  wickedness  and 
the  puerilities  of  idolatry.  But  it  were  a  mistake  to 
suppose  that  the  ethics  of  Buddhism  are  to  receive 
the  same  treatment  as  that  most  diabolical  cult  of 
Baalism  which  prostituted  women,  practiced  so- 
domy, and  crowned  its  heaven-daring  iniquity  by 
sacrificing  holocausts  of  innocent  children  in  the  fires 

19 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

of  Moloch.  Besides  the  prophets  were  not  preaching 
to  heathen  tribes,  whom  they  would  conciliate  and 
win,  but  to  their  own  intelligent  but  stultified  people 
who  were  constantly  in  danger  of  lapsing  from  the 
worship  of  their  wonder-working  God  into  that  of 
idols  which  a  man  (and  this  was  the  irony)  might 
whittle  from  a  piece  of  firewood.  When  God  remon- 
strated with  Jonah,  that  querulous  foreign  mission- 
ary to  Nineveh,  He  enjoined  gentleness  and  com- 
passion, and  especially  towards  the  multitudes  of 
children. 

(5)  ^  gross  misconception  which  lies  against 
the  missionary  enterprise,  is  the  ignorant  but  rather 
popular  assumption  that  it  only  represents  the  fa- 
natical zeal  of  a  few  hundred  enthusiasts  who  have 
gone  to  the  mission  fields  under  the  promptings  of  a 
temperament  which  otherwise  would  have  drawn 
them  into  chimerical  schemes  somewhere  else.  One 
of  our  leading  daily  papers  not  long  ago  published 
an  article  entitled  Moral  Hysteria.  The  work  of 
foreign  missions  was  drawn  upon  mainly  for  illus- 
trations of  that  diseased  sensibility  which  the  name 
implies,  though  certain  other  philanthropic  enter- 
prises were  also  assigned  a  place.  Quite  in  the  same 
spirit  a  writer  in  one  of  the  London  papers,  while 
speaking  of  the  troubles  in  which  missionaries  had 
become  involved  in  China,  found  some  comfort  in 
the  fact  that  this  crazy  enterprise  had  rid  England  of 
a  certain  per  cent,  of  impracticable  and  dangerous 
^'faddists."    It  is,  and  yet  perhaps  it  is  not,  surpris- 

20 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

ing  that  writers  of  this  stamp  should  know  so  little 
of  what  the  missionary  enterprise  really  is.  Even  the 
most  ignorant  ought  to  know  that  behind  each  "fad- 
dist" are  whole  communities  of  Christian  people 
whose  intelligent  interest  and  gifts  and  prayers  he 
represents.  No  Christian  denomination,  Protestant 
or  Catholic,  would  be  without  its  share  in  the  mis- 
sionary work.  Christianity  itself  is  a  mission,  and 
missions  are  applied  Christianity.  Old  Testament 
prophecy  breathes  a  missionary  spirit,  and  the  New 
Testament  is  a  missionary  volume.  The  Christian 
nations  of  the  world  are  the  fruits  of  missions.  We 
ourselves  owe  our  civilization  to  the  heralding  of 
the  Cross  to  our  savage  ancestors.  Much  of  the  best 
intellectual  ability  has  been  given  to  this  great  enter- 
prise, while  in  no  other  sphere  has  so  lofty  a  moral 
heroism  been  displayed.  It  has  confessedly  been 
the  broadest  and  the  grandest  manifestation  of 
our  world-embracing  Christianity.  It  has  touched 
the  highest  water-mark  of  disinterestedness  and 
Christ-likeness.  It  aims  to  overcome  all  selfish- 
ness of  the  individual,  the  Church,  the  nation, 
and  to  put  upon  Christian  service  the  full  meas- 
ure of  Christ's  universal  kingdom.  It  would  be 
easy  to  show  that  vast  and  substantial  interests  of  a 
secular  nature  have  been  promoted  by  this  Moral 
Hysteria  of  the  missionary  spirit — savage  tribes 
tamed  and  elevated  in  material  comfort  and  the  arts 
of  life,  commercial  intercourse  advanced,  oppres- 
sions overcome,  destructive  wars  averted,  education 

21 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

promoted,  the  havoc  of  disease  and  death  arrested, 
general  science  enriched  and  extended;  but  all  this 
is  subordinate  to  the  moral  and  spiritual  enlighten- 
ment which  many  a  dark  land  has  at  length  wel- 
comed. 

The  sublimest  spectacle  which  the  world  presents 
to-day  is  that  of  scores  of  great  Christian  bodies 
working  side  by  side  on  all  continents  and  in  the 
islands  of  the  sea,  printing  their  Bibles  in  three  hun- 
dred languages,  establishing  schools  and  colleges, 
hospitals  and  churches,  and  demonstrating  the  fact 
that  the  Gospel  bears  the  same  precious  fruits  among 
men  of  every  kindred,  tongue  and  tribe.  One  of  the 
most  needful  and  important  services  that  the  pulpit 
can  render  just  now  is  to  extend  the  Christian  faith, 
to  urge  forward  the  evangelization  of  the  world 
as  the  great  work  for  which  the  church  exists.  We 
should  take  alarm  when  the  sentiment  of  the  world 
has  become  so  dead  that  the  promulgation  of  the 
Great  Commission  is  regarded  as  proof  of  a  disor- 
dered brain. 

(6)  Still  another  hindrance  to  the  great  work  of 
missions  is  the  subtle  but  widespread  influence  of  the 
doctrine  of  evolution.  It  may  seem  difficult  to  trace 
its  effects,  but  they  exist.  Not  only  does  this  hypoth- 
esis assume  a  different  genesis  of  religion  from  that 
which  is  found  in  the  Word  of  God,  and  which  un- 
derlies the  plan  of  salvation,  but  it  supposes  an  en- 
tirely different  process  of  moral  advancement;  it 
discredits  all  ideas  of    preternatural  revelation  or 

22 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

other  special  means  of  grace.  Assuming  that  man*s 
reUgious  life  begins  with  fetishism,  or  low  forms  of 
animism,  and  has  advanced  by  slow  changes — so 
slow  as  to  be  imperceptible — its  presuppositions  are, 
of  course,  subversive  of  any  doctrine  of  a  new  spirit- 
ual birth.  Its  implication  is  that  a  sudden  or  even 
rapid  transformation  of  men  by  renewing  grace  is 
too  preposterous  to  be  thought  of  by  intelligent  peo- 
ple, and  is  especially  absurd  in  the  light  of  nineteenth 
century  science.  We  are  told  that  these  slow  intel- 
lectual and  moral  changes  are  attended  by  modifica- 
tions in  the  tissues  of  the  brain  and  nerves,  and  that 
gradually  as  races  are  elevated,  corresponding 
changes  will  occur  in  the  shape  of  the  skull. 

I  take  no  issue  with  these  hypotheses  which  con- 
tain a  modicum  of  truth,  but  only  with  their  dog- 
matic sweep.  The  conclusion  is  at  once  reached,  that 
supernatural  religion,  with  its  doctrine  of  regenera- 
tion is  an  impossibility;  that  generations  must  pass 
away  before  any  great  moral  change  can  be  wrought. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  missionary  work  supposes 
that  the  savage  man  may  be  converted  by  the  renew- 
ing of  the  Holy  Ghost  so  radically  that  not  only  life- 
long habits,  but  the  force  of  heredity  may  be  radi- 
cally changed.  The  missionary  work  has  thrown 
great  light  upon  this  subject.  Over  against  the  spec- 
ulations of  theorists  it  points  to  vast  island  popula- 
tions in  the  Pacific  which  within  a  score  of  years 
have  been  transformed  from  ferocious  cannibals  to 
earnest  Christian  men  and  women  who  give  largely 

23 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

of  their  means,  keep  the  Sabbath,  observe  family 
worship  and  all  the  ordinances  of  religion,  and  who 
freely  offer  themselves  as  missionaries  to  other 
islands  where  they  are  aware  that  others  have  sacri- 
ficed their  lives  for  Christ's  sake.  It  is  scarcely  pos- 
sible to  conceive  of  greater  and  more  radical  changes 
than  have  been  wrought  by  the  regenerating  power 
of  the  Gospel,  and  that  not  only  in  our  day,  but  all 
along  the  history  of  the  Church,  where  the  Gospel 
has  for  the  first  time  been  preached  amid  the  habita- 
tions of  cruelty.  I  do  not  propose  to  enter  upon  any 
discussion  of  the  hypothesis  of  evolution.  Whether  it 
bridges  the  abyss  between  mankind  and  the  brute 
creation  remains  still  a  question.  In  the  moral  his- 
tory of  mankind  there  have  been  many  instances  of 
gradual  development,  and  quite  as  many  also  of  de- 
generation. The  objection  which  I  now  raise  lies 
only  against  the  sweeping  assumption  that  every- 
thing in  this  world  is  to  be  accounted  for  on  this  hy- 
pothesis and  that  the  doctrine  of  supernatural  power 
in  the  redemption  of  the  world  must  be  laid  aside.  It 
behooves  the  Christian  church,  and  especially  the 
ministry,  carefully  to  study  the  history  of  missions 
past  and  present,  in  its  relations  to  this  subject.  Its 
achievements  and  successes  afford  a  great  corrobora- 
tive support  to  the  theology  of  the  church.  It  is 
in  evidence  that  in  our  own  generation,  thousands  of 
converted  savages  have  lived  transformed  and  con- 
sistent lives  under  great  discouragements,  and  that 
hundreds  have  joyfully  suffered    persecution    even 

24 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

unto  death.  There  is  no  explanation  that  can  be 
given  to  the  rehgious  phenomena  of  Madagascar, 
Uganda,  Samoa,  the  New  Hebrides,  Fiji  and  Metla- 
kahtla,  except  that  the  Gospel  has  fully  proved  itself 
the  power  of  God  unto  salvation  to  savages  and  can- 
nibals, and  that  of  many  races,  and  in  all  lands  and 
climes  and  environments. 

(7)  Again  the  work  of  foreign  missions  is  im- 
peded by  the  present  diplomatic  complications 
among  the  leading  powers  of  the  world.  One  ele- 
ment in  the  case  is  the  ambitious  effort  of  European 
nations  to  take  possession  of  all  lands  semi-civilized 
and  incapable  of  self-defence.  Samoa  had  become  a 
prosperous  and  fruitful  missionary  field  when  the 
scramble  of  European  diplomacy  began.  Tahiti,  a  sa- 
cred name  in  the  history  of  missions,  has  long  since 
been  occupied  by  the  French  with  a  determination, 
at  whatever  sacrifice  to  their  spiritual  welfare,  to 
subsidize  those  islands  for  commercial  profit  and  the 
glory  of  France.  The  fruitful  mission  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Board  on  the  Ogowe  was  so  hampered  by  a 
French  protectorate  that  it  was  thought  necessary  to 
resign  the  mission  to  the  Protestant  Missionary  So- 
ciety of  France — a  society  seriously  crippled  by  want 
of  funds.  The  glorious  history  of  Madagascar,  the 
martyr  record  of  a  past  generation,  the  establish- 
ment of  a  Christian  government  under  a  native 
queen,  the  full  demonstration  of  the  power  of  Gospel 
missions,  all  this  has  been  counted  for  nothing. 
French  aggression  has  stalked  across  the  island  with 

25 


OUESTIOXS  AXD  PHASES 

ruthless  trcavi.  while  the  despairing  apj>eal  of  a  ter- 
ror-stricken queen  to  the  sympathies  of  the  Christian 
worlvi  has  seemed  as  unavailing  as  the  moaning  oi 
the  wind. 

Another  phase  of  diplomatic  barriers  is  seen  in 
that  deadlock  of  European  powers  which  generation 
after  generation  has  permitted  and  virtually  sus- 
tained the  unheard-of  atrocities  of  Mohammedan 
despotism  towards  the  Christian  sects  in  the  Turkish 
Empire.  It  is  a  grievous  blemish  on  the  civilization 
of  Christian  Europe  that  selfishness  and  mutual 
jealousy  should  afford  imnumity  to  a  despotism 
which  otherwise  would  not  be  tolerated  in  this  asfe 
of  die  world.  It  is  difiicult  to  foresee  any  solution  oi 
this  problem  or  any  termination  of  this  sad  condi- 
tion of  things  in  the  near  future.  The  best  powers  of 
human  sagacity  and  tlie  highest  impulses  of  philan- 
thropy are  alike  battled. 

Still  another  disturbing  element  in  this  diplomatic 
question  is  seen  in  the  war-like  attitude  of  Christian 
nations  towards  each  other.  These  nations  claim  to 
represent  the  highest  ethics  and  the  purest  philan- 
thropy that  have  ever  been  promulgated  in  this 
w^orld.  They  are  supposed  to  have  borrowed  their 
precepts  and  their  supreme  aims  from  the  Prince  of 
Peace.  And  yet  to  the  non-Qiristian  nations  what  a 
spectacle  do  they  present?  Apparently  they  stand 
for  war  and  aggression.  The  weaker  nations  are 
held  in  terror  while  these  stronger  powers  decide 
which  of  tlie  contestants  shall  claim  them  as  the  vic- 

20 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

tor's  spoil.  It  is  impossible  to  exaggerate  the  barri- 
ers of  prejudice  which  this  forbidding  outlook  of  the 
world  creates  in  the  minds  of  the  depressed  races 
whom  we  would  win  to  the  Cross  of  Christ. 

I  do  not  overlook  some  qualifying  considerations 
which  are  commonly  presented  on  the  other  side.  It 
is  impossible  for  any  philosophic  observer  of  human 
history  to  ignore  the  fact  that  the  advancement  of 
civilization  has  sometimes  been  promoted  by  this 
struggle  for  existence,  and  the  survival  of  the  fittest. 
Walter  Baghot  has  said  that  however  men  may  dif- 
fer as  to  the  application  of  this  evolutionary  princi- 
ple to  the  natural  development  of  species,  it  certainly 
holds  good  in  the  conflict  of  nations.  There  is  a 
seeming  drift  of  destiny  which  renders  it  probable 
that  all  uncivilized  lands  will  within  the  next  quar- 
ter of  a  century  be  at  least  controlled  by  the  great  na- 
tions known  as  Christian.  The  best  that  can  be 
hoped  for  from  these  governments  is  that  they  will 
become  more  altruistic  in  their  policies  toward  the 
subject  races  for  which  they  shall  have  become  re- 
sponsible, that  more  and  more  the  good  of  humanity 
will  take  the  place  of  national  self-interest  and  that 
so  their  conquests  may  in  the  end  become  a  blessing 
to  mankind.  Meanwhile,  the  more  assiduously  the 
disinterested  and  self-sacrificing  work  of  missions  is 
carried  forward,  the  sooner  wdll  the  conquering  and 
ruling  powers,  as  well  as  the  races  conquered,  be 
raised  to  a  higher  and  better  life.  This  result  has  al- 
ready been  realized  in  India  and  South  Africa  w^here 

27 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

the  foreign  resident  has  become  more  humane  and 
just,  while  the  native  has  become  more  civihzed. 

(8)  Another  hostile  element  which  is  character- 
istic of  the  times  is  that  arrogant  spirit,  partly  liter- 
ary, partly  commercial,  partly  diplomatic,  which  has 
concluded  that  the  work  of  Christian  missions  is  a 
disturbing  influence,  a  discourtesy  to  friendly  na- 
tions, an  anachronism  in  this  enlightened  age  of  the 
world,  in  short  a  nuisance  which  should  be  abated. 
During  the  discussions  of  the  secular  press  which 
followed  the  massacre  of  missionaries  in  China  in 
the  summer  of  1896  this  spirit  cropped  out  in  all  di- 
rections. The  strictures  which  w^ere  published,  some 
of  them  quoted  from  the  letters  of  travelers,  in- 
volved gross  misrepresentation  as  to  the  causes  of 
the  violence  of  the  Chinese  populace. 

The  chief  responsibility  seemed  to  be  laid  at  the 
door  of  a  few  unoffending  Christian  women  who 
were  teaching  the  ''J^^us  religion."  It  was  assumed 
that  the  pure  ethics  and  moral  sensibilities  of  the 
Chinese  were  offended  by  the  indelicacy  show^n  by 
the  presence  of  unmarried  women  laboring  ostensi- 
bly for  the  good  of  their  sex  and  the  instruction  of 
little  children.  What  would  be  amusing  if  it  were 
not  so  wicked,  was  the  fact  that  Europeans,  the  im- 
morality of  whose  lives  had  long  been  a  blight  upon 
the  communities  in  which  they  lived  in  China, 
should  have  entered  into  such  zealous  sympathy  with 
the  pious  protest  against  this  foreign  infringement 
upon  the  high  moral  standards  of  Chinese  society. 

28 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

In  thus  ascribing  the  disturbances  to  missionary 
work  in  general,  the  newspaper  critics,  even  the  most 
intelHgent  of  them,  seem  to  have  forgotten  all  other 
and  deeper  causes  of  anti-foreign  animosity  in 
China :  the  systematic  and  long  continued  injustice 
of  the  opium  trade;  the  bombardment  of  Chinese 
ports  for  the  enforcement  of  the  hated  traffic;  the  at- 
tacks of  the  allied  armies  of  two  European  nations 
upon  the  capital  of  the  empire  itself  and  the  burning 
of  the  Imperial  Summer  Palace;  the  outrageous 
brow-beating  and  brutality  of  European  residents 
towards  the  people  of  China  on  their  own  soil;  the 
frauds  perpetrated  against  the  customs  laws  of 
China,  compelling  the  government  at  length  to  em- 
ploy Europeans  to  protect  it  against  Europeans ;  the 
unbridled  immoralities  of  foreigners  in  all  Chinese 
ports;  the  unjust  legislation  of  America  in  regard  to 
solemn  treaties;  the  prevalence  of  hoodlum  oppres- 
sion and  abuse  towards  the  Chinese  on  our  shores; 
the  fact  that  for  the  wholesale  murders  of  Chinamen 
at  Rock  Spring  not  one  perpetrator  has  ever  been 
brought  to  justice;  the  fact  that  all  the  great  nations 
have  claimed  exorbitant  indemnities,  and  that  some- 
times for  the  expense  of  aggressions  which  they 
themselves  had  made ;  all  these  things  are  overlooked 
as  causes  of  irritation.  The  missionaries  are  virtu- 
ally charged  with  all  the  bother  and  expense  and  in- 
jury to  ''business  interests."  It  is  fair  to  say  that 
with  many  native  officials,  there  is  prejudice  against 
Christianity  as  against  all  other  foreign  influences  of 

29 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

whatever  kind.  All  Western  ideas  are  opposed  to 
that  present  order  of  things  in  which  lie  the  glory 
and  power  of  the  ruling  classes.  And  the  Chinese 
minister  at  Washington  was  right  when  he  said  that 
the  cause  of  Christianity  suffered  greatly  in  being 
used  as  a  watchword  by  the  ''Long-haired  Rebels"  in 
the  Taiping  Rebellion  of  thirty  years  ago.  It  is  also 
true  that  in  every  case  where  an  indemnity  for  the 
destruction  of  property  has  been  claimed,  whether  by 
Protestants  or  Catholics,  and  the  people  have  been 
compelled  to  make  up  those  indemnities,  with  gen- 
erally a  large  extra  margin  for  the  officials,  there  has 
been  engendered  a  feeling  of  animosity  in  such  com- 
munities. And  this  suggests  to  all  missionaries  and 
missionary  societies  great  care  that  such  indemnities 
when  claimed  shall  be  within  the  measure  of  justice. 
But  while  animosities  are  sometimes  aroused 
against  missionaries  even  among  the  masses,  yet  for 
the  most  part  they  are  friendly ;  they  appreciate  the 
efforts  put  forth  for  them  in  hospitals  and  dispen- 
saries, in  schools  and  orphanages,  in  the  distribution 
of  famine  relief  and  in  a  general  manifestation  of 
sympathy.  They  are  not  fools,  and  they  soon  dis- 
cover the  difference  between  all  this  and  the  brow- 
beating and  abuse  and  immoral  examples  of  most 
other  foreigners.  The  testimony  of  Hon.  John  W. 
Foster  and  United  States  Minister  Denby  and  others 
is  that  the  people  are  generally  well  disposed  towards 
missionaries.  And  not  foreigners  only  give  this 
testimony ;  a  few  years  ago  an  edict  was  issued  from 

30 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

the  imperial  throne  warning  the  people  in  the  prov- 
inces against  disturbing  the  missionaries,  and  de- 
claring that  they  were  benevolent  in  their  purposes 
and  their  work,  studying  only  the  good  of  the  com- 
munities in  which  they  lived.  In  1896  a  public  proc- 
lamation was  issued  by  a  local  magistrate  in  Hainan, 
which  shows  how  false  rumors  against  missionaries 
often  arise,  and  how  they  are  sometimes  publicly 
corrected.  What  is  needed  is  more  light. 

The  proclamation  reads  thus : 

"Having  obtained  information  that  outside  the 
city  on  the  flats  where  bodies  are  buried,  or  coffins 
placed  previous  to  their  burial,  certain  men  from 
outside  the  island  have  come  who  have  forced  open 
the  brick  receptacles  and  stolen  the  clothes  from  the 
coffins,  I  have  already  sent  officers  quietly  to  investi- 
gate and  seize  the  thieves,  and  have  also  put  out  a 
proclamation  offering  a  reward  for  their  apprehen- 
sion. 

"Now  I  also  hear  that  in  Kiungchow  district  city, 
both  inside  and  outside  the  gates,  there  are  some 
who  circulate  a  report  calculated  to  stir  up  the  peo- 
ple, saying  that  the  Christians  have  opened  the 
graves  and  stolen  the  bones  in  order  to  make  medi- 
cine of  them  with  the  purpose  of  injuring  the  people. 
This  is  very  strange  indeed!  I  have  previously  in- 
vestigated and  found  that  these  foreigners  have 
come  to  Kiungchow  a  number  of  years  before  in  or- 
der to  propagate  their  doctrine  in  accordance  with 
the  treaty.    The  foreign  missionaries  have  come  to 

31 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

preach  the  doctrine,  to  persuade  the  people  to  do 
good,  to  heal  without  charge  those  who  are  sick  and 
to  perform  benevolent  acts.  They  have  healed  Ki- 
ungchow  officials,  literati,  soldiers  and  common  peo- 
ple, not  a  few  as  all  men  know.  They  have  not  dug 
out  the  bones  of  dead  men  with  which  to  make  medi- 
cine in  order  to  commit  evil  deeds.  These  reports 
have  been  spread  by  evil  persons  who  robbed  the 
graves,  and  who  have  improved  the  opportunity  to 
deceive  the  people  and  cause  a  disturbance.  I  despise 
exceedingly  this  talk,  and  have  ordered  policemen 
who  are  skillful,  secretly  and  truthfully  to  investi- 
gate in  order  to  seize  those  who  have  invented  these 
reports,  and  bring  them  to  the  yamen  in  order  that  I 
may  question  them.  Also  I  have  ordered  the  mili- 
tary officials  to  charge  their  soldiers  secretly  to  in- 
vestigate, and  those  caught  will  be  dealt  with  accord- 
ing to  law.  I  have  also  in  order  to  inform  all  men 
issued  this  proclamation." 

If  the  counsels  of  some  of  the  secular  papers  were 
followed,  and  all  missionaries  were  recalled,  the 
schools  and  chapels  closed,  the  ministries  of  Chris- 
tian women  to  the  sufferers  of  their  own  sex  cut 
short,  hospitals  and  dispensaries  and  orphanages  all 
shut,  while  only  secular  interests  were  maintained 
and  protected,  wliat  would  be  the  result  ?  China  her- 
self would  suffer,  and  thousands  of  the  wretched 
would  mourn  the  loss;  the  foreign  communities, 
which  in  recent  years  have  been  somewhat  restrained 
by  missionary  influence  and    a    higher   and   purer 

3« 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

sentiment,  would  relapse  into  the  old  measures  of 
vice  and  impurity,  and  civilization  itself  would  suf- 
fer loss. 

But  to  the  church  at  home  such  an  event  would 
bring  the  worst  calamity  of  all.  It  would  be  a  virtual 
surrender,  a  confession  of  failure,  a  denial  of  funda- 
mental principles  and  doctrines,  a  logical  fatality  to 
all  aggressive  Christian  work  at  home.  For  the  non- 
Christian  masses  here  are  no  more  anxious  for  the 
Gospel  than  are  the  heathen  in  China.  If  we  may 
not  strive  by  all  proper  means  to  teach  more  excel- 
lent ways  to  men  on  other  shores,  then  logically  we 
may  not  interfere  with  the  beliefs  or  customs  of 
strangers  coming  to  our  own  shores.  The  great  truth 
which  Christ  taught  to  his  disciples  on  the  brow  of 
Olivet  was  that  Christianity  is  a  world-wide  reli- 
gion, that  it  belongs  alike  to  Jerusalem  and  Judea 
and  Samaria  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth. 
Even  the  tacit  admission  that  Christianity  is  only 
ethnic  were  altogether  fatal. 

Against  this  supercilious  contempt  for  missions, 
which  often  appears  in  our  literature,  it  behooves  all 
friends  of  Christ's  kingdom  to  maintain  an  attitude 
of  firm  conviction  and  bold  defense.  It  is  time  that 
the  world  should  know  that  the  work  of  missions  is 
and  will  ever  be  the  life  of  the  Church.  There  will 
always  be  missions  so  long  as  there  are  men  any- 
where without  God  and  without  hope  in  the  world. 
Should  governments  withdraw  their  protection  on 
the  ground  that  missionaries    are   proselyters,  and 

33 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

deny  them  the  rights  which  are  accorded  to  mer- 
chants, opium  brokers,  and  saloon-keepers,  they  will 
go  without  protection,  as  thousands  have  done  in 
the  ages  past.  Should  persecution  and  mob  violence 
cut  off  those  now  in  the  field,  others  would  take  their 
places;  such  trials  would  probably  only  quicken  the 
zeal  of  the  Church  and  call  forth  still  more  earnest 
service. 


34 


REFLEX   INFLUENCE   OF  FOREIGN   MIS- 
SIONS UPON  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH 

I  DO  not  refer  to  the  advantages  of  the  mis- 
sionary enterprise  to  commerce  or  to  science,  but  to 
the  blessings  which  have  accrued  to  the  spiritual  life 
of  the  Church.  I  have  long  had  a  growing  convic- 
tion that  the  greatest  inspiration  lies  deep  down  in 
the  scriptural  foundation  of  the  missionary  idea  as  a 
vital  part,  nay  as  the  whole  life  of  the  Church. 

It  is  an  age  of  scepticism  and  criticism,  and  the 
chief  point  of  attack  is  the  work  of  foreign  mis- 
sions. The  tactics  of  the  enemy  are  various  and  are 
such  as  these :  It  is  a  hopeless  enterprise ;  you  can't 
change  the  character  or  the  customs  of  races.  Or  it 
is  useless;  other  peoples  have  their  faiths  and  they 
are  much  alike.  Or  it  is  inadequate ;  you  can  never 
dish  up  the  ocean  with  a  spoon.  Or  it  is  too  success- 
ful, and  is  threatening  social  and  even  political  insti- 
tutions. Or  it  is  impertinent,  and  insults  the  dignity 
of  old  systems  which  were  in  their  zenith  while  we 
were  barbarians,  and  in  fact  taught  us  all  we  know. 
Or  it  is  misanthropic,  and  refuses  to  welcome  to  one 
brotherhood  all  faiths  and  customs  and  conditions  of 
men. 

It  would  be  easy  to  show,  though  few  stop  to  con- 
sider the  fact,  that  these  flippant  assailments  in  their 

35 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

last  logical  conclusions  strike  at  all  our  propagan- 
dism  here  at  home,  at  all  our  essential  Christian  doc- 
trines, and  at  the  very  life  of  the  Church.  The 
Church  will  never  adequately  accomplish  her  great 
work  in  the  world  until  she  renounces  the  idea  that 
the  cause  of  foreign  missions  is  only  a  modern  ad- 
junct, an  enthusiastic  outside  enterprise  of  philan- 
thropic charity.  Not  until  she  realizes  that  it  is  her 
very  life  blood,  her  bone  and  sinew,  will  she  fulfill 
her  commission. 

(i)  Let  us  remember  that  the  New  Testament 
is  a  missionary  volume  and  the  Old  Testament  a 
prophecy  of  universal  conquest.  The  Gospel  of  sal- 
vation was  no  mere  after-thought  of  a  second  dis- 
pensation. Christ  was  ''the  Lamb  slain  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world,"  and  He  was  always  the 
Intercessor.  It  was  in  response  to  His  asking  that 
the  heathen  were  eternally  given  Him  as  an  inherit- 
ance, and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for  a  pos- 
session. "It  is  a  light  thing,"  so  the  divine  cove- 
nant runs,  "a  light  thing  that  thou  shouldst  be  my 
servant  to  raise  up  the  tribes  of  Jacob  and  to  restore 
the  preserved  of  Israel.  I  will  also  give  thee  for  a 
light  to  the  Gentiles  that  thou  mayest  be  my  salva- 
tion unto  the  ends  of  the  earth."  Here  in  Isaiah,  is 
the  full  scope  of  a  world-wide  redemption.  This  was 
a  rebuke  to  all  narrowness  in  Jew  or  Gentile,  in  the 
centuries  before  Christ,  or  in  the  nineteenth  century 
after  Christ.  It  were  a  small  matter  to  establish  a 
mere  ethnic  faith,  and  there  can  be  no  monopoly  for 

36 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

Jew  or  Anglo-Saxon.  Christ's  own  commission  as 
He  read  it  in  the  synagogue  of  Nazareth  was  al- 
most in  the  very  terms  of  that  which  He  gave  to 
Paul,  and  through  Him  to  His  church;  *'to  lead  the 
Gentiles  from  darkness  into  light,  from  the  power  of 
Satan  unto  God."  How  can  the  church  forget  her 
great  errand  in  the  world  or  be  slothful  in  it  ?  Four 
great  commissions  were  given  to  Christ's  apostles; 
first,  in  the  mountains  of  Galilee,  second,  on  Mount 
Olivet  before  the  ascension,  third,  to  Paul  near  Da- 
mascus, and  fourth,  again  to  Paul  in  a  vision  of  the 
night  in  Western  Asia.  It  was  this  great  work  of 
missions  that  led  Christ  to  overcome  Peter's  race 
prejudice  and  widen  out  his  conceptions  by  the  vision 
at  Joppa.  It  was  in  this  that  He  especially  promised 
to  be  in  the  midst  of  His  people,  even  unto  the  end 
of  the  world.  The  theology  of  the  Church  was  writ- 
ten in  missionary  letters,  and  for  this  reason  it  is  the 
more  vital  and  life-giving.  The  work  of  missions  is 
applied  theology,  full  of  the  touch  and  warmth  of  the 
Spirit's  power.  It  is  the  Gospel  of  salvation  illus- 
trated in  the  life  and  experience  of  the  Church. 

(2)  The  best  history  of  the  Church  through  all 
her  past  career,  is  her  missionary  history.  Looking 
back  through  the  centuries,  the  most  inspiring  influ- 
ences are  found,  not  in  religious  wars,  not  in  dis- 
putes and  hair  splittings  of  councils,  which  were 
often  bitter  and  fruitless,  not  in  rituals  and  ecclesi- 
astical establishments,  and  certainly  not  in  the  sad 
history  of  persecuting  zeal,  but  in  missionary  hero- 

37 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

ism  and  conquest.  Amid  all  that  is  dark  and  humili- 
ating in  the  memories  of  the  Christian  centuries,  the 
missionary  annals  of  the  Church  constitute  the 
brightness  and  sunshine.  They  savor  of  the  true  Bib- 
lical Christianity.  They  have  most  clearly  attested 
the  presence  of  Christ  in  history  and  the  continuity 
of  His  kingdom  in  the  world. 

(3)  Recall  the  many  contributions  which  the 
missionary  work  has  made  in  illustration  of  the  pe- 
culiar power  of  religious  truth  as  taught  in  living 
personality.  It  was  in  accord  with  Christ's  own 
teaching  that  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  an  indwelling 
power,  should  illustrate  truth  in  its  clearest  demon- 
stration in  the  living  characters  of  men.  And  in  no 
sphere  has  human  life  been  raised  to  a  higher  plane 
of  Christ-likeness  than  in  the  great  work  of  mis- 
sions. Take  the  life  of  Paul :  one  of  the  most  con- 
vincing arguments  for  the  truth  of  Christianity  is 
seen  in  the  actual  life  of  that  great  apostle.  No  di- 
dactic teachings  can  carry  such  force  of  conviction. 
He  had  been  a  bigoted  Jew  and  a  persecutor,  but  he 
claimed  to  have  been  miraculously  arrested  in  his 
career  and  commissioned  to  a  work  full  of  hardship 
and  trial  and  persecution,  with  a  warning  at  the  out- 
set that  he  should  suffer  a  martyr's  death.  What  a 
program,  and  yet  what  a  life !  How  do  you  fit  the 
two  together?  This  was  not  blind  fanaticism,  for 
he  evinced  the  clearest,  calmest  reason.  Nor  did  he 
falter  as  time  went  on,  nor  flag  in  his  enthusiasm 
when  trials  came:   he  fought  the  good  fight  to  the 

38 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

end.  He  claimed  to  have  revelations  from  his  di- 
vine Master  whose  convincing  power  made  the  un- 
seen world  more  clear  to  him  than  this  world  of 
sense.  He  had  no  motive  for  deceiving  either  him- 
self or  others.  He  was  either  insane  or  his  soul  was 
transfigured  with  the  light  of  heaven.  His  love  of 
Christ  was  a  passion.  His  faith  and  fortitude  were 
sublime.  The  personality  of  his  divine  Master  was 
so  stamped  upon  his  whole  being  as  to  carry  convic- 
tion to  friend  and  foe.  Not  only  the  Apostolic 
Church  but  the  ages  have  felt  his  inexplicable  power. 
I  might  mention  men  and  women  scattered  all 
through  the  history  of  missions  who  in  greater  or 
less  degree  have  exhibited  the  power  of  a  sanctified 
and  sublimated  Christian  personality;  men  who  al- 
though withdrawn  from  the  conventionalities  of 
Christian  society,  and  confronted  with  unmitigated 
heathenism,  and  peculiarly  and  wholly  thrown  upon 
the  power  of  God,  have  lived  so  closely  in  His  fel- 
lowship that  the  transcendent  power  of  their  faith  has 
shown  like  the  radiant  face  of  Moses  when  descend- 
ing from  the  mount;  men  like  Schwartz,  or  Henry 
Martyn,  or  David  Brainerd,  like  Bishops  Patteson 
and  Hannington,  or  to  take  one  whom  we  have  seen 
and  known,  whose  power  we  have  felt,  John  G.  Pa- 
ton.  I  am  sure  that  thousands  who  have  heard  him, 
or  read  his  experiences  and  triumphs,  who  have  wit- 
nessed his  sustained  and  joyous  faith  in  Jesus,  have 
been  lifted  into  a  clearer  atmosphere  of  heavenly 
reality,  and  have  been  made  ashamed  of  all  doubts. 

39 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

I  verily  believe  that  the  advent  of  that  man  in  the 
American  churches  did  more  to  establish  their  faith 
in  the  divine  reality  of  the  Gospel  than  a  thousand 
tomes  of  argument  could  have  done.  Even  the  sec- 
ular press  which  is  not  always  just,  has  frequently 
declared  that  the  highest  proofs  of  the  power  of 
Christianity  in  our  time  is  to  be  found  not  in  creeds 
or  the  labored  defenses  of  the  schools,  but  in  the 
personel  of  living  men  who  sacrifice  all  that  most 
men  hold  dear,  that  they  may  devote  their  lives  to  the 
service  of  the  ignorant  and  degraded  in  the  dark 
places  of  the  earth.  Christianity  represents  the  high- 
est altruism  that  the  world  has  known,  and  the  per- 
sonal work  of  missions  is  the  highest  expression  of 
Christianity. 

(4)  The  missionary  enterprise  illustrates  in  a  pe- 
culiar degree  the  doctrine  of  a  divine  providence 
in  the  world ;  it  attests  the  presence  and  the  superin- 
tendency  of  Him  who  said  'To  I  am  with  you  alway 
even  unto  the  end  of  the  w^orld."  Look  out  upon 
the  nations  and  see  what  has  been  done  and  how  it 
has  been  done,  all  under  our  eye.  Within  a  century 
or  a  little  more,  we  have  seen  the  strategic  points  of 
the  globe  occupied  with  mission  stations.  As  we 
follow  the  coast  lines  of  the  world,  beginning  for  ex- 
ample with  Greenland,  we  see  along  the  southwest- 
em  coast  the  mission  stations  of  Danes  and  Morav- 
ians, and  the  same  across  the  sea  among  the  Esqui- 
maux. Through  British  America,  following  every- 
where the  track  of  the  fur  traders,  we  find  stations 

40 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

of  the  Anglican  or  the  Wesleyan  Missions,  along 
the  coasts  of  Hudson's  Bay,  up  the  rivers,  the  Sas- 
katchawan,  the  Red,  and  down  the  Mackenzie,  even 
to  the  Arctic  ocean ;  on  the  west  coast  of  Columbia, 
and  in  Vancouver  and  more  recently  in  Alaska,  half 
a  dozen  organizations  are  at  work,  some  of  them 
even  beyond  Behring  straits.  In  the  United  States 
there  have  been,  from  the  days  of  the  early  Morav- 
ians, mission  stations  among  the  many  Indian  tribes, 
and  now  they  are  scattered  through  nearly  all  of 
Mexico.  There  are  Protestant  Missions  in  Central 
America  Honduras,  Colombia,  Peru,  Chili,  and 
Southern  Patagonia;  in  the  Argentine  Republic, 
Brazil,  the  Guianas,  Venezuela,  and  the  West  India 
Islands;  you  will  find  them  all  around  the  African 
coast,  up  the  Congo,  and  along  the  Great  Lakes ;  in 
Egypt  and  Abyssinia,  in  Soudan,  Natal  and  Cape 
Colony;  in  Syria  and  through  the  Turkish  Empire, 
in  Persia,  in  distant  India,  in  Burmah  and  Ceylon, 
and  even  in  Thibet ;  in  Java  and  Borneo  and  Celebes ; 
in  Australia  and  Tasmania,  New  Zealand,  Fiji, 
Hawaii,  and  many  other  groups  of  the  Pacific  Is- 
lands; in  Siam  and  Laos,  in  China,  Korea  and  Ja- 
pan. 

Now  the  point  of  special  significance  is  that  these 
missionary  outposts  of  the  globe  have  been  occupied 
not  by  any  great  compact  or  alliance  of  Christian 
nations,  or  of  churches ;  but  a  variety  of  seemingly 
fortuitous  circumstances  have  led  to  their  establish- 
ment.    Of  Protestants  alone  a  hundred  different  or- 

41 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

ganizations  have  been  moved  by  an  impulse  so  ob- 
viously one,  that  they  must  have  been  under  the 
superintendence  of  one  Mind  and  Spirit.  On  the 
human  side  a  thousand  diverse  circumstances  have 
led  to  the  planting  of  these  missions.  For  example, 
a  persecuted  colony  of  Moravians  accepted  their  ban- 
ishments as  a  call  of  God  to  proclaim  the  Gospel ;  a 
Hawaiian  youth  pleading  for  an  education  aroused 
the  churches  of  New  England ;  the  appearance  of  a 
West  Indian  slave  in  London  suggested  a  mission  to 
his  people ;  fur  companies  prepared  the  way  for  the 
truth ;  diamond  fields  and  gold  fields  opened  many  a 
path  for  missionaries ;  convict  colonies  in  Tasmania 
and  Norfolk  Island  were  followed  by  heralds  of  the 
Cross;  a  settlement  of  pirates  on  a  lone  island  be- 
came a  missionary  station ;  a  New  Zealander,  suffer- 
ing abuse  on  shipboard,  touched  the  heart  of  mis- 
sionary Marsden  for  his  people ;  a  scientific  expedi- 
tion reported  interesting  mission  fields  on  the  Paci- 
fic and  opened  up  Tahiti ;  the  horrors  of  the  coolie 
traffic  aroused  the  zeal  of  men  like  Patteson;  the 
very  oppressions  of  the  South  African  Boers  only  ex- 
tended missions  toward  the  interior ;  the  wickedness 
of  the  East  India  Company  touched  the  missionary 
heart  of  England;  the  schemes  of  the  French  Em- 
peror in  Mexico  threw  the  doors  wide  open  to  the 
truth;  an  unjust  opium  war  opened  China,  a  naval 
squadron  opened  Japan;  the  blunder  of  an  Ameri- 
can naval  officer  led  to  the  opening  of  Korea;   the 


42 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

finding  of  Livingstone  and  the  visit  to  Uganda 
awoke  the  zeal  of  all  Christendom  for  Dark  Africa. 

In  all  this  there  has  been  no  joint  planning  of  hu- 
man wisdom,  no  concert  of  philanthropic  action  be- 
tween Christian  nations.  All  has  been  chaos  on  the 
human  side;  every  kind  of  motive  has  had  its  play; 
selfish,  sordid,  and  cruel  motives  oftener  than  other- 
wise. The  wrath  of  man  has  praised  God,  and  the 
remainder  thereof  has  been  restrained.  Whence 
then  has  this  work  its  marvelous  unity  ?  Who  but  a 
divine  Intelligence  has  directed  all  these  diverse 
movements  of  men  to  one  great  purpose,  and  made 
them  one  grand  march  of  conquest.  It  can  be  noth- 
ing less  than  divine!  Wliat  an  object  lesson  to 
teach  us  the  great  doctrine  of  God's  providence  in 
the  world.  What  better  evidence  could  the  church 
ask  for,  that  Christ  is  fulfilling  his  promise  to  be 
with  her,  even  to  the  end  of  the  world  ? 

Nay,  I  appeal  not  merely  to  the  Christian,  but  to 
the  philosopher,  the  ethnologist,  the  statesman,  the 
political  economist — to  all  who  study  the  great 
movements  of  the  nations  and  of  human  history.  I 
point  them  to  this  unique  and  world-wide  crusade, 
and  ask  them  to  explain  it.  There  is  no  love  of 
money,  no  motive  of  personal  ambition.  Nor  is  it 
a  peculiar  development  of  any  fanatical  sect:  the 
whole  Church,  Catholic  and  Protestant,  is  enlisted. 
It  is  not  a  mere  impulse  of  philanthropy,  as  when  a 
sudden  calamity  arouses  sympathy.  It  moves  on, 
decade  after  decade,  and  century  after  century,  brav^ 

43 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

ing  all  climates,  subsidizing  all  languages,  adapting 
itself  to  all  races.  It  is  organized  and  reduced  to  a 
science.  It  shows  no  abatement,  but  an  ever-increas- 
ing force.  It  is  the  most  unselfish  and  unworldy 
of  all  enterprises ;  it  sacrifices  home  and  wealth  and 
honor  and  the  ties  of  country  and  of  most  sacred 
friendships,  in  obedience  to  the  call  of  an  unseen  Re- 
deemer. How  shall  it  be  explained  ?  How  shall  we 
estimate  its  value  as  a  proof  that  the  great  Head  of 
the  Church  is  now  over  all  movements  of  mankind, 
and  holds  the  sceptre  of  the  world? 

(5)  The  work  of  foreign  missions,  more  than 
any  other  Christian  enterprise,  brings  us  to  the  su- 
preme test  of  our  Christianity  as  a  supernatural  re- 
ligion. The  secular  press  generally  treats  foreign 
missions  with  a  measure  of  pity  or  contempt,  be- 
cause it  judges  them  upon  purely  naturalistic  princi- 
ples. This  peculiar  work  is  the  supreme  point  at 
which  our  Christianity  meets  the  prevailing  natu- 
ralism of  our  time.  If  we  content  ourselves 
with  building  up  respectable  religious  organizations 
here  at  home,  with  our  rubrics  and  our  Christian 
culture,  the  world  will  tolerate  and  possibly 
commend  us.  It  will  laud  our  efforts  for  the 
poor  and  debased  at  our  door,  and  it  will 
see  the  propriety  of  establishing  Christian  institu- 
tions on  our  frontiers  where  their  conservative  and 
elevating  influence  has  so  often  been  witnessed.  But 
when  it  comes  to  foreign  missions,  that  is  worse 
than   a   root   out   of   dry   ground.     The    average 

44 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

newspaper  reporter  has  no  category  for  such  an  en- 
terprise, and  the  popular  magazine  writer  finds  it 
profitable  to  pour  upon  it  his  sharpest  scorn.  Well, 
if  this  is  the  chief  battle  ground  for  the  maintenance 
of  a  supernatural  Christianity,  let  us  accept  it  as 
such.  It  is  the  most  unworldly,  and  from  the  com- 
mon standpoint,  the  most  incomprehensible  of  all 
things.  And  what  is  very  strange  is  that  it  has  so 
deep  a  hold  upon  all  our  Christian  denominations.  It 
rises  superior  to  all  national  complications,  all  com- 
mercial fluctuations,  all  financial  disasters.  It  is  so 
stable  in  its  character  that  it  can  safely  appropriate 
thousands  and  even  millions  of  dollars  in  advance 
of  its  receipts,  relying  chiefly  upon  the  faith  of  God's 
people  in  the  supernatural  conquest  of  redemption. 

Now  it  is  just  this  folly  of  foreign  missions,  so 
baffling  and  sometimes  so  maddening  to  the  ^over- 
wise  scepticism  of  the  times,  that  constitutes  the 
chief  value  of  this  cause  in  its  bearing  upon  the  doc- 
trinal life  of  the  Church.  There  are  forms  of  Chris- 
tianity here  at  home  which  virtually  surrender  all 
that  is  supernatural,  and  yet  seem  to  get  on 
fairly  well.  The  nomenclature  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment they  retain.  The  forms  of  worship,  with 
prayer  and  song  and  sacrament,  they  reverently  ob- 
serve. They  magnify  the  ineffable  purity  of  Christ, 
and  regard  Him  as  the  very  highest  approach  of  our 
humanity  to  the  Infinite  God — only  they  deprive 
Him  of  His  crown  of  thorns,  and  substitute  a  wreath 
of  laurel  or  of  flowers.  Living  more  or  less  upon  the 

45 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

moral  momentum  of  parental  influence  and  example, 
they  manifest  many  noble  Christian  virtues,  and 
they  win  our  honor  and  respect.  But  when  it  comes 
to  foreign  missions,  naturalistic  Christianity  stops 
short.  Systems  of  mere  culture  cannot  follow  you 
into  that  broad  field.  They  cannot  borrow  your 
message  of  a  divine  atonement,  and  an  all  sufficient 
Savior.  If  then  this  great  conquest  is  our  high 
vantage  ground,  defying  all  counterfeits  and  all  com- 
promises, and  holding  us  up  to  the  divine  import  of 
our  faith,  let  us  rally  round  it  and  stand  for  it.  We 
bless  God  for  it. 

(6)  Foreign  missions  have  restored  to  the 
Church  the  true  altruistic  and  Christ-like  conception 
of  Christian  experience.  Within  the  last  hundred 
years  this  movement  has  worked  the  greatest  trans- 
formation in  the  experience  and  life  of  the  Church 
that  anything  short  of  a  pentecostal  gift  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  could  have  wrought.  A  contemporary  of 
Carey  tells  us  that  up  to  the  time  the  attention  of 
the  English  Baptists  was  called  to  the  subject  of 
missions,  there  had  been  great  depression  in  the 
minds  and  hearts  of  his  parishioners.  The  old- 
fashioned  type  of  piety  which  dug  forever  at  self, 
and  was  only  solicitous  to  know  whether  one's 
frames  and  emotions  were  such  as  to  make  sure 
the  salvation  of  his  own  poor  soul,  was  found  to  be 
a  starveling  and  shrivelled  sort  of  Christian  experi- 
ence. But  the  new  missionary  spirit  which  was  en- 
kindled just  then,  was  like  a  flash  of  sunlight  on  a 

46 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

cloudy  day,  or  the  clearing  up  of  a  dark  and  murky 
atmosphere  by  a  fresh  breeze  from  the  mountains. 
Men  stopped  worrying  about  self  and  got  into  the 
current  of  Christian  work.  Their  souls  rose  and 
expanded  with  the  thought  of  reclaiming  a  lost 
world;  and  coming  thus  into  the  very  lines  of 
Christ's  own  life  and  activity,  they  felt  the  touch  and 
the  joy  of  the  Christ-like  spirit.  And  so  throughout 
all  Protestant  Christendom  life  was  everywhere  en- 
riched and  energized  by  the  new  missionary  era. 
Men  laid  down  the  question  of  their  personal  salva- 
tion at  the  foot  of  the  Cross  while  they  asked  ''What 
wilt  thou  have  me  to  do?"  That  transformation  has 
been  worth  more  to  mankind  a  thousand  times 
than  the  cost  of  all  the  missionary  enterprises  of  the 
world.  Fewer  diaries  are  written  now,  no  doubt, 
for  men  and  women,  and  even  the  young,  find  too 
much  to  do  for  their  fellow  men.  Now,  even 
childhood  is  uplifted  and  ennobled  by  this  impulse. 
In  the  increased  knowledge  of,  and  sympathy  for, 
the  world  of  mankind,  you  might  almost  say  that  the 
influence  of  the  missionary  work  has  of  itself  con- 
stituted a  liberal  education  with  thousands. 

How  has  this  impulse  ennobled  the  Christian 
womanhood  of  our  time?  How  many,  even  of  the 
wealthy,  who  had  every  means  of  earthly  enjoyment 
and  were  still  unhappy  because  dissatisfied  with  their 
lives,  have  found  in  the  foreign  missionary  work 
the  joy  of  noble  service  and  generous  giving,  of 
blessed  fellowship  with  each  other,  and  of  concerted 

47 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

and  inspiring  prayer  ?  How  have  their  womanliness 
and  their  abihty  on  all  lines  of  organization  and 
noble  activity  been  increased?  But  this  blessing 
has  inured  not  only  to  individual  souls,  but  to  the 
whole  religious  and  eleemosynary  work  of  the 
church  here  at  home.  The  late  Dr.  Mullens,  in  a 
book  entitled  "London  and  Calcutta"  showed  that 
nearly  every  one  of  the  benevolent  movements  which 
had  been  organized  in  Great  Britain  had  sprung 
from  the  earlier  impulse  of  foreign  missionary 
work.  Home  missionary  societies,  city  missionary 
organizations,  eleemosynary  institutions  were  just 
so  many  refluent  currents  setting  back  homeward 
from  the  great  wave  of  Christian  sympathy  which 
had  flowed  out  toward  the  races  of  the  heathen 
world.  And  I  need  hardly  urge  upon  my  intelli- 
gent readers  the  fact  that  this  very  same  thing  has 
occurred  in  this  country.  Out  of  the  small  societies, 
organized  for  work  among  the  Indians,  our  home 
missionary  agencies  have  grown.  Indian  mission 
schools  are  now  represented  by  some  of  our  most 
useful  colleges.  Woman's  work  for  woman  in 
heathen  lands  has  inspired  corresponding  zeal  and 
effort  for  all  exceptional  populations  on  our  own 
shores.  Zenana  bands  and  the  student  volunteer 
movements  have  crystallized  into  a  mighty  organiza- 
tion of  Christian  Endeavor  along  all  lines  of  work. 

(7)  The  work  of  foreign  missions  has  taught 
the  Church  and  the  world  a  valuable  lesson  in  com- 
parative ethics.     It  has  demonstrated  not  only  the 

48 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

universal  applicability  of  Christian  ethics  to  all  na- 
tions and  races,  but  also  their  infinite  superiority. 
We  all  admit  that  many  of  the  ethnic  faiths  teach 
ethical  principles,  but  it  is  quite  another  thing  to 
apply  them  in  practical  form  and  general  observance 
— in  other  words — to  make  them  effectual  in  gov- 
erning society  and  all  kinds  of  society.  The  ethics 
of  Islam  could  never  meet  the  wants  of  Europe  or 
America.  They  have  never  elevated  any  people  be- 
yond a  moderate  degree.  They  have  in  many  re- 
spects demoralized  the  new  races  which  conquest  has 
brought  under  their  power.  Islam  loves  the  desert 
or  the  sleepy  and  sensuous  stagnation  which  marks 
the  character  of  the  East ;  it  involves  the  enslave- 
ment of  woman  and  the  restrictiveness  that  checks 
and  petrifies  all  progress.  A  Mohammed  Webb,  call- 
ing the  teeming  American  populace  to  Moslem  pray- 
ers from  a  third  story  window  on  Union  Square,  or 
defending  polygamy  in  a  religious  parliament  in 
Chicago,  are  certainly  out  of  place. 

The  cultus  of  Buddhism  would  prove  a  sad  *'mis- 
fit"  in  any  Western  land.  The  pauperism  of  New 
York  is  bad  enough  as  it  is:  but  what  would  we 
think  if  tens  of  thousands  of  yellow-robed  priests 
were  swarming  through  its  streets  with  a  beggar's 
bowl  as  in  Siam,  and  our  bustling,  matter  of  fact 
people  were  asked  to  regard  these  as  the  most  worthy 
and  sacred  of  our  population?  Theosophists  and 
esoteric  Buddhists  tell  us  that  Thibet  is  the  fountain 
head    of    celestial    wisdom — that    heaven-forsaken 

49 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

country,  if  there  is  one,  where  a  large  per  cent,  of  the 
population,  male  and  female,  are  immured  in  the  dirt 
and  squalor  of  snow-bound  monasteries,  while  the 
masses  are  left  to  their  ignorance  and  poverty  and  the 
sanctioned  vice  of  polyandry.  But  we  have  no  de- 
mand for  the  ethics  or  the  social  and  religious  customs 
of  the  Orient,  and  we  can  dispense  with  the  occult 
wisdom  of  its  mildewed  and  moss-grown  asceticism. 
Our  Christian  ethics  have  shown  again  and  again 
their  universal  adaptation  and  their  molding  power 
in  all  heathen  lands.  In  every  land  and  clime,  among 
peoples  of  every  rank  and  grade,  newly  formed 
Christian  communities  have  developed  the  same  or- 
der and  borne  the  same  fruits.  Disinterested  tes- 
timonies on  this  subject  are  innumerable.  Even 
Charles  Darwin  repeatedly  expressed  his  surprise  at 
the  moral  order  which  missions  had  established  in 
the  East  Indian  archipelago  and  among  the  savage 
tribes  of  Terra  del  Fuego. 

And  not  only  in  contrast  with  other  religious  sys- 
tems do  our  Christian  ethics  stand  forth  in  peerless 
beauty  and  in  power,  but  they  compare  equally  well 
with  any  cultus  that  agnosticism  or  the  religions  of 
humanity  have  ever  devised.  If  we  may  judge  by  the 
actual  history,  either  of  heathen  races  or  of  philoso- 
phic systems  in  our  time,  the  true  data  of  ethics  are 
the  teachings  of  the  New  Testament.  We  have  in  this 
missionary  era  acquainted  ourselves  with  all  races 
and  all  cults,  the  best  and  the  worst,  and  we  fmd  but 
one  power  to  regenerate  human  society.  Well  did  the 

50 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

late  James  Russell  Lowell  defy  the  sceptics  of 
England  "to  point  to  any  spot  ten  miles  square  on 
this  globe  of  ours  where  a  decent  man  can  live  in  de- 
cency, supporting  and  educating  his  children,  a  place 
where  age  is  reverenced,  infancy  protected,  manhood 
respected,  womanhood  honored,  and  human  life  held 
in  due  regard,  where  the  Gospel  of  Christ  had  not 
gone  and  cleared  the  way,  and  laid  the  foundation, 
and  made  decency  and  society  possible." 

(8)  The  work  of  foreign  missions  has  reached 
the  most  advanced  position  in  respect  to  Christian 
union,  and  has  given  the  clearest  demonstration  of 
its  practicability.  As  an  example,  for  the  last  two 
years  conferences  have  been  held  by  the  different 
Protestant  missionary  boards  and  societies  in  this 
country  and  Canada,  for  the  purpose  of  securing  cor- 
dial comity  and  general  co-operation  in  the  one  great 
work.  In  minor  things  they  differ :  they  are  called 
by  different  names;  they  have  different  rubrics  as  to 
church  order;  they  pursue  their  distinct  lines  of 
operation.  But  while  they  are  called  to  surrender 
nothing  that  is  a  matter  of  sincere  conviction,  they 
strive  to  emphasize  those  more  essential  points  in 
which  they  are  one;  namely,  the  fact  that  men  are 
ruined  by  sin  and  are  in  perishing  need  of  salvation ; 
that  Jesus  is  the  all-sufficient  Savior,  and  the  only 
name  given  under  heaven  among  men  whereby  we 
must  be  saved;  that  the  omnipotent  power  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  is  indispensable  in  transforming  the 
hearts  and  lives  of  men;    that  salvation  is  by  faith 

51 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

in  Christ,  and  that  in  order  to  extend  that  faith  it  is 
necessary  to  go  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the 
Gospel  to  every  creature. 

These  organizations  stand  together  against  all 
those  errors  which  would  deny  the  divinity  of  Christ, 
and  dispense  with  a  vicarious  atonement;  which 
would  explain  away  the  personality  and  office  work 
of  the  Holy  Ghost;  which  would  weaken  the  au- 
thority of  the  Word  of  God ;  which  would  teach  the 
perfectibility  of  human  nature  without  divine  aid; 
which  would  deny  the  universality  of  the  religion  of 
Jesus  Christ,  and  virtually  remand  it  to  a  place 
among  the  ethnic  faiths ;  which  would  regard  Chris- 
tian experience  as  a  development  from  naturalistic 
elements,  and  not  the  work  of  regenerating  grace; 
which  would  proclaim  a  mere  gospel  of  humanity 
and  a  universal  brotherhood  without  the  headship  of 
Christ;  which  would  rest  in  a  charity  of  practical  in- 
difference, and  regard  the  great  work  of  evangeliz- 
ing non-Christian  nations  as  an  impertinent  in- 
trusion. Now  this  practical  alliance,  embracing  not 
merely  thousands  but  even  millions  of  Christians  on 
this  continent,  carries  with  it  an  immense  power  of 
conviction  and  of  efficiency. 

It  verifies  and  magnifies  the  unity  of  the  Spirit 
and  the  common  bond  of  love  in  Christ.  It  partially 
fulfils  His  prayer  that  all  His  disciples  may  be  one, 
even  as  He  and  the  Father  are  one. 

(9)  But  there  is  one  more  point  in  which  the 
great  work  of  foreign  missions  corroborates  and 

52 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

strengthens  the  essential  doctrines  of  the  Christian 
Church,  and  to  that  I  call  a  moment's  attention  as 
the  most  significant,  the  most  incontestable  of  all.  I 
allude  to  its  wonderful  demonstration  of  the  trans- 
forming power  of  the  Gospel,  over  individuals  and 
over  races  and  nations  of  mankind.  Calvinists  and 
Arminians  differ  as  to  the  place  of  emphasis,  but 
they  both  preach  salvation  through  Christ,  and  a 
veritable  regeneration  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  Prot- 
estants and  Catholics  agree  on  this  point.  But  the 
sceptical  w^orld  deny  that  there  is  any  such  power  in 
the  Gospel,  and  this  is  a  crucial  question  of  our  time. 
Aside  from  the  teachings  of  the  scriptures,  is  the 
church  justified  and  sustained  in  the  doctrine,  that 
the  Gospel  has  a  transforming  power  over  hearts  of 
men?  In  reply  let  me  add  that  the  most  perfect 
verification  of  this  scriptural  truth  is  found  in  the 
work  of  missions.  What  we  profess  is  the  absolute 
necessity  of  the  new  birth ;  and  not  only  the  necessity 
but  the  reality  of  the  new  birth,  is  attested  in  the 
history  of  missionary  effort  among  all  races  and  con- 
ditions of  men.  The  Gospel  does  in  fact  transform 
the  human  soul. 

We  read  and  hear  much  of  heredity.  The  scepti- 
cal world  used  to  scoff  at  the  idea  of  heredity,  and 
the  responsibility  which  attends  a  race  apostasy,  but 
sociologists  and  biologists  of  our  day  transcend  the 
strongest  types  of  hyper-Calvinism,  and  make  every- 
thing of  heredity.  Its  domination  is  extreme;  it 
molds  not  only  character,  but  the  very  molecules  of 

53 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

the  brain  and  nerves.  On  these,  character  depends 
to  such  an  extent  as  almost  to  destroy  moral  respon- 
sibility, not  only,  but  absolutely  to  preclude  any 
moral  changes  except  by  slow  process.  By  the  very 
shape  of  the  skull  scientists  claim  to  read  the  charac- 
ter of  generations  which  passed  ages  ago.  In  other 
words,  there  is  a  physiology  of  the  mind  which  de- 
fies great  moral  improvement;  the  intuitions  which 
men  have  are  the  treasured  and  hereditary  experi- 
ences of  past  generations.  The  Fijian  can  no  more 
be  changed,  or  the  denizen  of  the  New  Hebrides  than 
you  can  change  the  instincts  of  animals. 

Now  against  all  this  assumption  of  science,  and 
in  favor  of  that  despised  and  ridiculed  doctrine  of 
a  new  birth,  the  missionary  work  brings  forward 
its  witnesses.  It  places  on  the  stand  the  savage  Fi- 
jian of  forty  years  ago,  the  cannibal  of  New  Heb- 
rides, the  vile,  brutish  Samoan,  who  will  testify  that 
the  mighty  power  of  God's  Spirit  transformed  them 
in  a  day,  and  that  in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  whole 
islands  and  groups  of  islands  have  been  changed 
into  Christian  communities, — Christian  communities 
which  would  put  many  of  our  churches  to  shame  by 
their  more  godly  and  consistent  lives.  Who  can  es- 
timate the  power  of  such  demonstrations  as  this  ?  I 
say  therefore,  in  the  very  deepest  sense  the  mission- 
ary work  is  bound  up  in  our  doctrinal  system ;  they 
stand  or  fall  together.  While  on  the  one  hand  we 
cannot  possibly  maintain  a  creed  which  shall  be  con- 
stantly belied  by  apathy  and  indifference  of  an  ortho- 

54 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

dox  but  dead  Christian  church,  and  can  never  make 
the  world  believe  that  we  are  in  earnest  so  long  as  we 
have  nothing  of  the  Christ-like  pity  for  the  degraded 
and  ruined;  so  on  the  other  hand  if,  strengthened 
by  these  attestations  of  our  faith,  we  gather  new 
courage,  take  on  new  measures  of  zeal,  and  go  forth 
to  the  actual  conquest  of  the  world,  acting  out  and 
illustrating  our  faith,  it  is  not  in  the  power  of  all 
scepticism  or  all  pride  of  intellect  and  worldly  power 
to  resist  or  even  gainsay  the  effort  and  the  triumph 
of  the  Christian  church. 


55 


A  FOREIGN  MISSION  BOARD  A  UNIVER- 
SITY OF  BENEFICENCE 

The  Church  will  never  adequately  prosecute  her 
work  of  foreign  missions  until  she  gains  a  more 
comprehensive  view  of  the  variety  and  extent  of  the 
enterprise  which  she  has  undertaken.  It  is  well  nigh 
impossible  to  make  it  clearly  understood,  it  is  so  vast, 
so  widely  extended,  and  it  embraces  so  many  forms 
of  effort.  The  constant  tendency  is  to  look  upon  it 
as  simply  one  of  seven  or  eight  distinct  church  en- 
terprises, all  to  be  treated  with  the  same  strict  im- 
partiality as  a  family  of  children  under  one  parental 
roof.  Consequently,  churches  which  make  only  one 
annual  collection  for  foreign  missions,  do  not  real- 
ize what  it  is  that  they  are  expecting  to  be  accom- 
plished with  it,  and  how  impossible  it  is  to  render 
so  enormous  a  tale  of  brick  with  so  little  straw. 

A  board  of  foreign  missions  is  really  a  university 
of  Christian  beneficence. 

(i)  It  is  an  extensive  missionary  organization 
in  the  sense  of  employing  the  services  of  living  men 
and  women  to  preach  and  teach  the  Gospel.  Some  of 
these  are  missionaries  sent  from  their  native  lands, 
and  they  number  hundreds.     Others,  and  generally 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

a  much  larger  number,  are  native  preachers,  teach- 
ers and  helpers  who  have  forsaken  the  faiths  of  their 
fathers  and  have  entered  the  army  of  Christian  con- 
quest. All  this  involves  a  peculiarly  sacred  obliga- 
tion. In  no  other  service  is  the  faith  of  the  Church  so 
solemnly  plighted;  since  in  no  other  is  there  so  great 
a  venture  assumed  by  those  who  are  commissioned. 
These  thousands  of  missionaries,  of  whatever  so- 
cieties, leaving  home  and  country,  have  entered  this 
work  for  life.  It  has  cost  much  for  their  voyages, 
and  their  support  while  learning  the  languages.  If 
the  supply  of  funds  should  decline,  shall  they  sacri- 
fice all  this  outlay  and  be  called  back?  Surely  they 
cannot  be  left  where  they  are  without  support;  they 
are  an  army  in  the  enemy's  country,  and  far  from 
their  base  of  supply.  They  have  gone  forth  on  the 
virtual  pledge  of  a  great  and  wealthy  constituency 
and  its  good  faith  must  be  kept.  The  common  senti- 
ment of  mankind,  even  though  sympathizing  never 
so  little  with  the  great  cause  of  missions,  would  con- 
sider us  bound  by  every  dictate  of  honor  to  support 
our  Christian  soldiers  at  the  front.  Other  thousands 
of  native  preachers  and  helpers  also,  at  the  instance 
and  persuasion  of  messengers  from  Christian  lands, 
have  embarked  in  the  same  enterprise,  and  have  so  to 
speak,  burned  their  ships  behind  them.  They  have 
broken  with  their  old  faiths  and  cast  their  lot  with 
strangers.  They  have  incurred  the  hatred  and  per- 
secution of  friends  and  even  kindred  by  undertaking 
the  advocacy  of  a  foreign  religion.     I  appeal  to  all 

57 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

friends  of  missions,  shall  we  forsake  them  now  and 
turn  them  adrift  to  meet  the  scorn  of  their  neigh- 
bors and  to  be  driven  to  despair  and  perhaps  apos- 
tacy  from  the  faith  ?  Such  a  course  would  bring  re- 
proach upon  the  whole  missionary  cause,  nay  upon 
Christianity  itself.  Itwould  lead  critics  to  ask  ''What 
kind  of  a  religion  is  this  which  persuades  men  to 
renounce  the  faith  of  their  fathers  and  break  with 
their  kindred,  and  then  forsake  them?"  Let  us  be 
fully  conscious  of  what  we  are  doing,  when  we  think 
of  abandoning  or  even  neglecting  those  who  have 
enlisted  under  our  banners. 

There  are  many  moral  risks  in  sending  missiona- 
ries to  the  Orient  to  overthrow  venerable  religious 
systems,  and  break  up  ancient  social  customs.  Not 
only  in  the  view  of  those  who  believe  in  these  sys- 
tems, but  also  in  the  opinions  of  thousands  of  their 
sympathizers  in  our  own  land,  our  undertaking  is 
wild  and  chimerical;  nay  is  obtrusive  and  imperti- 
nent. The  trend  of  much  of  our  popular  literature 
is  against  it.  The  so-called  charity  of  an  imaginary 
and  sentimental  brotherhood  of  men  condemns  it. 
On  the  other  hand,  we  believe  in  it  as  the  only  logical 
outcome  of  a  supernatural  Christianity  whose  com- 
mission is  divine  and  irresistible.  So  before  God 
and  men  the  Church  is  a  spectacle.  She  has  entered 
upon  a  great  and  openly  avowed  conquest,  and  the 
world  and  the  universe  are  witnesses.  If  the  effort 
is  not  an  earnest  one,  is  not  sustained,  is  not  thor- 
oughly carried  out,  it  will  prove  worse  than  a  failure; 

58 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

it  will  bring  untold  reproach  upon  the  whole  cause 
of  our  Redeemer.  The  Christian  Church  is  on  trial 
in  its  foreign  mission  work.  It  has  thrown  out  its 
challenge,  announced  its  purpose,  chosen  its  strategic 
points,  and  actually  arrayed  its  forces  in  front  of  the 
enemy.  How  can  it  sound  a  retreat?  Have  we  well 
considered  the  responsibility  which  Christendom  has 
assumed  in  thus  laying  siege  to  so  many  nations  and 
systems,  and  with  a  force  which  relatively  is  less  than 
Gideon's  band,  or  even  the  Syrian  shepherd  lad  with 
his  sling?  Have  we  rightly  measured  the  alterna- 
tives of  success  on  the  one  hand  and  of  failure  on  the 
other?  If  we  move  forward  adequately  and  victori- 
ously, we  shall  give  a  greater  emphasis  and  reality  to 
our  creed  than  any  formularies  can  express. 

We  often  point  to  the  conquests  of  Christianity  in 
the  past  as  proofs  of  its  divine  origin.  Many  a  time 
has  it  been  said  that  the  greatest  miracle  that  the 
Christian  faith  can  present  is  the  wonderful  history 
of  its  progress  in  many  lands,  and  especially  in  the 
transformations  which  it  has  wrought  upon  the  un- 
civilized races  of  Europe.  Is  it  less  true  that  similar 
conquests  now  may  constitute  the  best  evidences  of 
the  divine  power  of  the  Gospel.  Who  can  estimate 
the  possibilities  of  such  testimony,  if  the  Church 
were  fully  awake  to  her  opportunities  ? 

But  there  is  a  grave  alternative  to  be  considered : 
if  we  falter  and  fail,  we  shall  give  countenance  to  the 
jeers  of  the  enemy  who  already  challenge  the  sin- 
cerity of  our  belief,  and  who  point  to  the  shameful 

59 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

disproportion  between  the  lavish  expenditures  made 
for  every  form  of  selfish  gratification  and  the  poor 
dole  which  we  offer  for  what  we  profess  to  re- 
gard as  the  supreme  object  of  duty  and  of  life. 
Failure,  or  even  apathy,  in  the  great  missionary 
enterprise  will  give  countenance  to  the  often  repeated 
allegation  that  Christianity  has  lost  its  power  and 
become  effete,  that  its  doctrines  have  lost  their  positive 
force,  and  that  the  Church  herself  has  come  to  feel 
at  heart  that  all  religions  are  much  alike  and  that 
each  may  be  best  suited  to  its  environments,  though 
none  are  divine.  This  enterprise  is  not  merely  a 
matter  of  so  much  money  contributed  more  or  less; 
it  is  a  great  moral  issue  to  which  angels  and  men  are 
witnesses. 

(2)  A  board  of  foreign  missions  is  a  vast  church 
erection  society.  Xay,  it  builds  not  only  churches, 
but  homes  for  its  missionaries.  An  army  of  invasion 
of  whatever  kind  must  carry  its  armaments  and 
equipments;  and  also  its  provisions  and  its  shelter 
from  the  storm.  It  is  impossible  for  those  who  are 
only  familiar  with  the  comforts  to  be  found  in  their 
own  land,  to  realize  the  indispensable  necessity  of 
building  homes  for  our  missionaries  in  heathen  coun- 
tries. It  were  a  poor  economy  to  place  them  in  bam- 
boo huts  under  a  tropical  sun.  or  on  the  malarious 
mud  floors  of  native  houses :  we  cannot  so  trifle  with 
precious  lives.  Even  on  the  low  ground  of  mere 
business  principles,  our  missionaries  must  be  pro- 
vided with  houses  suited  to  an  American  constitu- 

60 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

tion,  and  it  is  cheapest  to  build  them  in  such  a  man- 
ner that  they  will  last  for  a  reasonable  time.  What 
sagacious  commander,  if  he  expected  to  win  success, 
would  cripple  his  army  by  needless  exposure  or  by  an 
inadequate  commissariat.  A  cavalry  regiment  or  an 
express  company  would  deem  it  a  wise  economy  to 
maintain  the  health  and  vigor  of  its  horses.  A  trav- 
eling menagerie  would  carefully  protect  its  rare  and 
expensive  beasts  and  reptiles,  from  whatever  should 
endanger  life  or  health. 

But  something  quite  different  from  this  is  often 
applied  to  the  missionary  service.  One  would 
suppose  that  in  this  high  vocation  the  great 
desideratum  were  not  vigorous  health  and  strength 
for  work,  but  the  conspicuous  and  startling  spec- 
tacle of  slow  martyrdom,  and  the  general  sanc- 
tifying influence  of  missionary  graves.  We  are 
aware  that  great  wisdom  and  discrimination  are 
required  in  this  matter,  for  there  is  another  extreme. 
The  just  medium  between  a  wasteful  economy  and 
a  wasteful  extravagance  is  sometimes  hard  to  find. 
Missionary  boards  are  sometimes  severely  tried  by 
the  inexperience  or  foolish  ambition  of  some  young 
missionary  who  makes  an  unwise  expenditure;  but 
there  are  many  more  cases,  especially  at  interior  sta- 
tions, in  which  for  want  of  funds  missionaries  are 
living  in  native-built  houses  of  dried  mud  walls.  In 
the  rainy  season  these  sometimes  drip  with  moisture, 
and  liquid  mold  breeds  disease.  And  the  practical 
question   now   presented    is, — how    shall   all    these 

6i 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

manifold  and  pressing  wants  be  met?  With  hun- 
dreds of  chapels  toward  which  the  native  churches 
can  pay  but  a  small  part,  and  hundreds  of  missiona- 
ries' houses  for  which  they  can  pay  nothing,  how  is 
this  vast  structural  work  to  be  provided  for  ?  Do  the 
churches  give  a  well  considered  and  adequate  allow- 
ance for  this  separate  and  extensive  work  as  they 
make  a  separate  offering  for  church  erection  boards 
at  home.  If  not,  why  not?  On  what  principle  is 
the  distinction  based?  Why  is  it  that  we  have  but 
one  annual  collection  for  the  salaries  of  our  missiona- 
ries, for  their  helpers,  for  their  chapels,  for  their 
homes,  and  for  a  multitude  of  things  not  yet  named  ? 
(3)  A  board  of  foreign  missions  is  a  great  bu- 
reau of  education.  It  is  true  that  the  work  is  mainly 
performed  by  the  force  already  mentioned,  namely, 
missionaries  and  native  preachers  and  teachers  when 
ready  for  actual  work.  But  wherewithal  shall  we 
recruit  and  enlarge  this  native  force?  Not  only  in 
the  current  evangelistic  service,  but  in  all  our  board- 
mg  schools,  from  the  lower  grades  to  the  college  and 
theological  seminary,  there  must  be  sustentation  as 
well  as  instruction.  Small  tuition  fees  are  secured 
where  it  is  possible,  but  mainly  the  thousands  of  pu- 
pils must  be  clothed  and  fed  from  the  one  treasury. 
In  this  country  we  have  separate  boards  of  education 
which  receive  contributions  for  this  specific  object. 
The  fact  is  recognized  that  the  great  hope  of  church 
extension  in  this  country  lies  in  the  education  of  a 
numerous,  well  trained  ministry,  and  that  those  who 

62 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

for  purposes  of  prolonged  study  are  withdrawn  from 
active  and  remunerative  business,  must  for  a  time  be 
aided  from  some  general  fund.  Now  precisely  the 
same  wants  and  the  same  conditions  exist  on  all  the 
foreign  mission  fields.  They  exist  there  in  a  much 
greater  degree,  as  the  general  poverty  is  greater,  and 
the  sympathy  and  aid  of  kindred  and  friends  are  im- 
measurably less;  in  fact,  kindred  and  friends  have  in 
most  cases  become  bitterest  foes.  Moreover,  in  this 
country  a  large  part  of  the  expense  of  education,  the 
preparatory  education  even  of  the  ministry,  is  pro- 
vided for  by  the  state;  but  it  were  a  great  mistake  to 
suppose  that  education  in  the  established  colleges  and 
universities  of  countries  like  India  and  Japan  can  be 
depended  upon  for  even  a  partial  training  of  native 
preachers,  to  say  nothing  of  those  countries  in  which 
no  government  aid  is  rendered. 

Rationalistic  tendencies  appear  in  the  instruction 
given  in  some  of  our  universities  in  this  country  as 
well  as  in  those  of  India;  but  here  they  are  guarded 
against  to  a  great  extent  by  family  influence  and 
early  training,  by  the  work  of  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Associations,  and  by  the  general  prevalence  of 
Christian  sentiment.  But  there  are  no  such  safe- 
guards for  university  students  on  the  mission  fields. 
Anyone  who  has  read  the  interesting  book,  The 
Diary  of  a  Japanese  Convert,  will  have  seen  how 
different  from  our  own  is  the  mental  and  moral  at- 
titude of  those  whose  antecedents  were  heathen.  The 
Church  through  its  missionary  agencies  must  as- 

63 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

sume  the  whole  burden  of  ministerial  education,  and 
if  the  work  of  foreign  missions  is  to  be  carried  on 
adequately,  and  with  good  hope  of  success,  there  is 
an  imperative  demand  for  positive  and  efficient  edu- 
cational provisions  to  supply  the  needs  of  the  foreign 
field.  Yet  this  great  interest  too  can  look  only  for  its 
small  share  of  our  annual  church  collection.  It  is 
readily  seen  that  missionaries  enough  to  convert  the 
world  can  never  be  sent  from  the  Christian  lands  of 
the  West.  All  thoughtful  men  must  agree  with  the 
utterance  so  often  made  that,  "India  must  convert 
India  and  China  must  convert  China;"  and  yet  some- 
how the  Church  is  marvelously  wedded  to  the  notion 
of  bringing  all  this  about  by  the  ridiculous  dole  of 
one  annual  collection. 

(4)  A  board  of  foreign  missions  is  an  extensive 
board  of  aid  for  securing  the  plants  of  schools  and 
colleges,  with  all  their  furnishing  and  equipment.  I 
have  already  spoken  of  church  buildings  and  mis- 
sionaries' dwellings,  but  there  is  another  structural 
department,  embracing  colleges  and  seminaries  for 
both  sexes,  industrial  school  plants  and  boarding 
schools  of  various  grades  down  to  the  orphanage  and 
the  kindergarten.  For  the  tens  of  thousands  of  pupils 
in  day  schools  humble  buildings  are  rented,  but  for 
the  boarding  schools  of  all  ranks,  permanent  build- 
ings are  generally  erected  or  purchased  with  mission 
funds.  The  Presbyterian  Board,  alone,  not  to  men- 
tion others,  has  such  institutions  scattered  over  Sy- 
ria, Persia,  India,  Siam,  Laos,  China,  Korea,  Japan, 

04 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

Brazil,  Chili,  Colombia,  Mexico,  and  Guatemala.  In 
a  very  few  instances  provision  has  been  made  by 
large  individual  gifts,  but  as  a  rule  the  one  annual 
collection  is  the  Aladdin's  lamp  whose  magic  is  ex- 
pected to  cover  the  earth  with  educational  institu- 
tions. In  many  of  our  mission  fields  the  govern- 
ments under  the  spur  of  missions  no  doubt,  and  the 
added  motive  of  rivalry,  are  supplying  the  means  of 
advanced  education  on  a  liberal  scale.  Fine  build- 
ings and  all  needed  appliances  are  generously  sup- 
plied. The  government  colleges  in  Brazil  may  be 
mentioned  specially  in  this  connection.  There  is  a 
great  advance  also  in  Mexico.  And  the  influence  in 
these  institutions  is  anything  but  favorable  to  evan- 
gelical truth.  The  extent  of  university  education 
in  India  is  well  known,  and  its  character  unfortu- 
nately has  been  rather  agnostic.  In  Japan,  the  Tokyo 
University  is  aspiring  to  be  one  of  the  first  educa- 
tional centres  in  the  world.  In  proportion  to  its  age 
it  has  no  rival  anywhere.  It  already  numbers  scores 
of  professors  and  teachers.  Almost  every  depart- 
ment of  learning  is  taken  up  on  the  most  generous 
scale  and  with  ample  provision. 

Now  Christianity  has  not  thus  far  held  a  second- 
ary place  in  education.  It  would  be  an  unspeakable 
humiliation  if  now,  in  a  country  which  fifty  years  ago 
was  in  the  utter  darkness  of  heathenism,  the  whole 
mission  work  should  be  overshadowed  and  discred- 
ited by  higher  grades  of  secular  education,  wholly 
godless,  and  looking  down  upon  our  missionary  edu- 

65 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

cation  with  a  feeling  akin  to  pity.  In  these  circum- 
stances the  churches  in  Christendom  cannot  measure 
the  interests  of  Christian  education  by  the  geography 
of  their  own  lands  merely ;  for  the  world  has  become 
geographically  one,  and  the  interests  of  education 
and  the  general  advancement  are  one  and  the  same 
the  world  over.  We  cannot,  therefore,  lavish  all  our 
munificence  upon  the  institutions  at  our  door,  while 
we  leave  Christian  education  out  upon  the  wide  bat- 
tle-fields of  truth  and  error  to  languish  and  sink  into 
contempt.  There  cannot  be  disease  or  paralysis  at 
the  extremities  without  sapping  the  source  of  life  at 
the  vital  centres.  Here  then  is  a  problem  whose 
gravity  cannot  be  overestimated.  Here  are  questions 
touching  the  struggle  of  Christian  truth  with  w^orld- 
wide  error  which  will  soon  demand  careful  attention. 
In  a  word  we  must  plan  more  deeply  and  broadly. 
The  nations  cannot  be  converted  to  Christ  by  in- 
strumentalities which  are  measured  by  the  present 
proportions  of  outlay.  We  are  dipping  the  ocean 
with  a  spoon.  We  are  disregarding  the  Savior's 
maxim,  that  he  who  would  go  to  war  must  count 
his  forces  adequately,  and  in  proportion  to  the  con- 
quest which  he  would  make.  We  are  inviting  defeat. 
(5)  A  board  of  foreign  missions  is  a  great  pub- 
lishing establishment.  In  our  own  land  religious 
books  and  papers  are  supplied  from  many  sources, 
and  Bibles  are  multiplied  almost  as  the  leaves  of  au- 
tumn ;  but  in  heathen  lands  there  is  no  literature  till 
the  missionary  creates  one.     Among  many    tribes 

66 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

neither  printing  nor  writing  is  known,  and  some- 
times a  language  or  dialect  is  without  grammatical 
form.  In  some  eastern  lands  where  old  religious 
systems  are  found,  elaborate  and  extensive  litera- 
tures survive,  the  treasures,  perhaps,  of  a  bygone  and 
more  enlightened  age,  but  they  are  not  within  the 
reach  of  the  people  and  are  not  read  even  by  the 
priesthood.  Hindus  are  ignorant  of  Sanscrit,  the 
Siamese  Buddhists  of  the  sacred  Pali,  and  the  Bom- 
bay Parsees  of  the  Zend  and  the  Pelavi.  Here  is  our 
opportunity. 

A  Prince  of  Siam  said  to  a  missionary  of  the 
Presbyterian  Board,  'The  literature  which  you  have 
published  is  really  the  first  religious  literature  that 
the  people  of  Siam  have  ever  read.  Your  books  may 
be  found  in  the  homes  of  the  leading  classes  and  even 
in  the  royal  palace,  where  they  have  a  first  hearing; 
for  Buddhists,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  have  never  fur- 
nished the  people  with  the  literature  of  Buddhism. 
Even  the  most  intelligent  classes,  and  to  a  large  ex- 
tent the  priests,  are  ignorant  of  it.  This  neglect 
has  been  a  great  mistake,  for  now  your  Christian 
books  are  read  with  fresh  interest." 

Only  one  who  has  visited  the  mission  fields  from 
land  to  land  can  realize  the  popular  need  of  religious 
literature  or  the  vast  expenditure  of  labor  and  of 
money  by  which  so  many  mission  presses  are  built 
and  manned,  and  kept  at  work  with  their  daily  issues 
of  thousands  of  pages.  In  translating,  in  writing 
compends  of  theology  and  history,  or  commentaries 

67 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

and  tracts  and  school  books  of  all  kinds,  the  mission- 
ary force  is  employed;  but  the  added  financial  ex- 
penditure in  buildings,  presses,  apparatus,  and  the 
employment  of  a  large  force  of  skilled  and  unskilled 
laborers,  is  very  great.  In  scarcely  any  other  de- 
partment have  missions  done  so  much  to  revolution- 
ize eastern  lands  as  in  this.  The  work  of  the  Syria 
Mission  in  translating  the  Bible  into  Arabic,  and  in 
more  beautiful  type  than  Arabs  had  ever  seen  before, 
was  a  great  event  in  the  history  of  Arabic  speaking 
races ;  and  the  revolution  which  was  accomplished  in 
the  printing  of  the  Chinese  language,  by  the  great 
dictionaries  of  Dr.  S.  Wells  Williams  and  Dr.  J.  C. 
Hepburn,  both  printed  by  a  mission  press,  were 
equally  grand  achievements.  Rev.  James  S.  Gale,  a 
missionary  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  U.  S.  A.,  has 
done  a  similar  work  in  Korea.  The  possibilities 
which  lie  along  this  line  of  effort  will  be  realized 
when  we  reflect  that  the  Bible  in  whole  or  in  part  is 
now  translated  into  over  three  hundred  languages 
and  dialects.  The  press  in  Beirut  has  issued  millions 
of  pages  of  religious  books  and  school  books  for  its 
own  and  other  missions,  and  the  Presbyterian  press 
in  Shanghai  has  done  the  same  for  China,  while  its 
type  foundry  has  supplied  type  for  nearly  all  the 
early  newspapers  of  the  Chinese  Empire. 

(6)  A  foreign  missionary  board  is  a  vast  medical 
and  eleemosynary  society,  having  branches  in  many 
parts  of  the  world.  In  China,  Korea,  Japan,  Hainan, 
Siam,   Laos,    India,   and   Persia,   the   Presbyterian 

68 


OF  MODERN  MISvSIONS 

Board  maintains  over  thirty  hospitals  and  dispen- 
saries. This  presents  another  very  large  item  for 
buildings  and  equipments.  And  the  work  in  this 
department  must  be  done  thoroughly  if  at  all.  Dif- 
ficult surgical  cases  must  be  under  complete  control. 
Patients  must  be  removed  from  the  discomfort  and 
neglect  of  native  households  and  placed  in  hospital 
wards,  or  they  will  die,  and  superstitious  prejudice 
will  charge  the  responsibility  upon  our  faith  and  our 
whole  work.  Thousands  of  surgical  operations  are 
performed  every  year,  and  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
persons  receive  medical  treatment,  and  not  only  build- 
ings but  the  support  of  the  patients,  the  medicines 
and  appliances,  and  the  large  force  of  servants  and 
nurses,  must  be  provided.  The  general  influence  ex- 
erted by  medical  missions  can  never  be  fully  esti- 
mated. Not  only  the  multitudes  who  have  been 
healed  are  rendered  more  impressible  by  the  truth, 
but  grateful  households  and  wondering  communi- 
ties. The  miracles  of  surgery  which  are  wrought 
every  day,  become  silent  heralds  far  and  near,  and 
where  they  have  opened  the  way  the  seed  sowing 
follows.  And  not  only  this  :  every  hospital  becomes 
a  medical  training  school  for  native  physicians  of 
both  sexes,  and  through  their  influence  medical  prac- 
tice is  being  revolutionized  throughout  whole  na- 
tions. It  were  a  pity  that  such  a  work  could  not  be 
greatly  enlarged.  But  our  medical  work  must  also 
look  for  support  to  its  meagre  share  of  the  one  collec- 
tion.    It  may  have  been  a  rainy  day  collection,  or 

69 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

the  fortuitous  loose  change  of  the  donors  was  low, 
but  there  is  no  help  for  it :  it  must  pass  for  the  gift 
of  the  year  for  all  the  physical  wants  and  woes  of  the 
heathen  world. 

In  order  to  realize  more  fully  the  deficiencies  of 
our  provision  for  the  medical  work  of  the  vast  and 
destitute  races  of  benighted  men,  let  us  pause  and 
consider  what  is  done  in  this  one  department  here 
at  home.  What  magnificent  hospitals  are  now  pro- 
vided in  our  great  cities !  In  New  York  it  is  claimed 
by  some  that  we  have  too  many.  In  addition  to  those 
which  are  provided  from  municipal  or  state  fund,  all 
the  Christian  and  Jewish  denominations  vie  with 
each  other  in  the  most  popular  of  all  charities.  Most 
heartily  do  we  rejoice  in  it.  It  honors  and  even  glo- 
rifies that  spirit  of  Christianity  which  has  created 
such  a  sentiment  and  such  results.  One  beautiful 
feature  of  this  charity  is  that  all  classes  of  the  suf- 
fering are  admitted  without  respect  to  creed  or  na- 
tionality. But  why  the  difference  between  this  work 
which  is  at  our  door  and  under  our  eye,  and  which 
often  perhaps  involves  a  certain  element  of  pride,  and 
that  which  concerns  so  many  millions  of  men  and 
women  with  far  worse  needs  on  foreign  fields?  Is 
this  Christ-like  work  for  humanity  a  matter  of  geog- 
raphy, that  we  should  spend  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  dollars  on  the  mere  architecture  of  our  hospitals 
here  while  we  point  the  suffering  millions  of  Asia 
and  Africa  to  our  one  annual  missionary  collection, 
waited  for  as  it  is  by  more  competing  claimants  than 

70 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

ever  gathered  around  Bethesda,  and  simply  say  to 
them  "Be  ye  clothed  and  be  ye  fed  and  be  ye  healed !" 
Now  these  classifications  suggest  a  general  inade- 
quacy in  our  methods  of  raising  money  for  foreign 
missions,  an  inadequacy  which  will  continue  to  be 
fatal  to  great  success  until  some  radical  change  shall 
be  made.  The  present  plan  has  aptly  enough  been 
characterized  as  merely  "dabbling  with  missions." 
It  is  something  less  than  skirmishing :  it  is  an  impos- 
sible sort  of  procedure  and  would  hardly  seem  to  in- 
dicate any  serious  purpose  or  expectation  of  success. 
We  are  trying  to  carry  on  our  manifold  work  on  the 
great  dark  continents,  on  a  principle  the  very  reverse 
of  that  which  we  employ  in  our  own  land.  Here  we 
follow  a  law  of  expansion  and  ramification — there  a 
law  of  contraction  and  concentration.  Here  as  the 
work  of  the  Church  has  grown  we  have  multiplied 
agencies  and  given  to  each  a  distinct  administration 
and  a  distinct  support.  Here  we  have  our  mission- 
ary work  divided  into  home  missions  and  city  mis- 
sions, and  special  missions  connected  with  different 
congregations.  In  the  Presbyterian  church  we  have 
beside  these,  church  extension  committees,  and 
special  missionary  agencies  for  the  presbyteries  and 
synods.  We  provide  separate  administrations  and 
separate  collections  each,  for  education,  publication, 
church  erection,  the  freedman,  and  systematic  aid  for 
colleges.  We  make  collections  for  Bible  societies, 
and  tract  societies,  and  the  Sunday  School  Union, 
for  hospitals  and  asylums  and  orphanages.    What 

71 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

would  be  thought  of  the  poUcy  of  including  all  these 
objects  in  one  collection,  and  that  collection  taken 
perhaps  with  a  mere  announcement  and  no  appeal? 
Would  not  the  bare  suggestion  be  met  with  ridicule? 
Would  not  everybody  conclude  that  the  Church 
could  not  be  in  earnest  but  was  only  enacting  a  hol- 
low and  heartless  farce. 

But  I  have  not  yet  fathomed  the  full  difficulty  that 
differentiates  foreign  missions  from  the  varied  be- 
nevolent work  at  home.  So  far  from  realizing  the 
inadequacy  of  the  provision  we  make  for  the  many 
wants  and  woes  of  the  great  heathen  world,  the 
churches  are  constantly  depleting  the  resources  de- 
pended upon  for  the  prosecution  and  expansion  of 
existing  work,  by  diverting  even  their  small  gifts  to 
a  hundred  subordinate  and  divisive  schemes  which 
happen  to  appeal  to  the  fancy.  A  vague  and  indis- 
criminate sense  seems  to  be  applied  to  the  term  for- 
eign, as  if  the  emphasis  were  there,  rather  than  on 
any  great  definite  undertaking  for  the  conversion  of 
men :  as  if  it  were  of  no  consequence  what  the  object 
may  be  or  where  it  is  located,  if  only  it  is  far  off.  It 
may  be  some  ill  judged  or  irresponsible  scheme  un- 
dertaken by  an  individual.  It  is  rather  "taking'' 
perhaps  and  so  the  castomary  annual  contribution 
for  foreign  missions  or  a  part  of  it  is  set  down  to  its 
credit.  Even  the  one  small  gift  of  the  year  for  a 
score  of  needy  and  accredited  objects  is  diverted  to 
nobody  knows  what. 

While  the  utmost  economy  is  observed  in  the  work 
72 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

of  the  great  boards,  while  all  the  extent  and  variety 
of  the  above  named  operations  on  a  score  of  distant 
fields,  are  to  be  administered  by  from  two  to  five 
executive  officers,  and  complaints  are  often  made 
that  even  that  small  force  cannot  be  reduced,  each 
one  of  the  hundred  independent  missionary  schemes 
is  manned  by  an  able  bodied  solicitor,  with  salary  and 
large  traveling  expenses,  and  the  churches  cheerfully 
support  this  army  while  their  own  cheaper  organized 
agencies  are  crippled  by  debts.  Unless  some  very 
positive  and  concerted  action  is  taken  by  the  churches 
to  the  contrary,  this  inadequacy  of  support  for  estab- 
lished foreign  missions  seems  little  likely  to  im- 
prove, and  for  the  reason  that  the  number  of  ob- 
jects nearer  home  increases  in  a  greater  ratio  than 
the  supply  of  funds.  Expendiures  within  the  local 
congregation  are  becoming  constantly  larger  :  the  in- 
ventiveness of  the  people  in  ways  and  means  outruns 
the  missionary  spirit.  Humanitarian  charities  greatly 
increase  in  number  and  variety,  and  we  would  not 
have  it  otherwise.  Personal  luxuries,  family  luxu- 
ries, social  luxuries  of  all  kinds,  absorb  more  and 
more  the  means  of  the  Church ;  and  the  self  interests, 
and  the  nearer  charities  have  the  great  advantage  of 
being  close  at  hand.  Objects  in  the  foreground  al- 
ways seem  large  and  conspicuous  and  their  appeal  is 
strong,  while  "the  regions  beyond"  are  only  a  dim 
blue  line  in  the  horizon,  and  however  much  there 
may  be  of  want  and  distress,  the  distant  cry  is  un- 
heard.   The  far  off  charnel  houses,  and  scenes  of 

73 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

violence  or  suffering,  are  unseen.  When  shall  the 
dim  and  narrowing  perspective  of  the  world's  great 
want  cease  from  this  fatal  illusion  ?  When  shall  the 
enlarged  and  intelligent  faith  of  the  church  come  to 
see  the  problem  of  a  world-wide  redemption  in  some 
small  degree  as  God  sees  it  ?  When  shall  we  proceed 
with  this  vast  undertaking  on  some  intelligent  and 
adequate  plan?  Vyhen  shall  not  merely  sentiment 
and  enthusiasm  but  common  sense  assume  her  proper 
place  in  the  work  of  missions,  and  a  true  arith- 
metic of  the  finances  be  applied  as  in  all  things  else  ? 
We  look  out  into  the  future  of  this  greatest  of  all 
conquests  and  not  a  very  distant  future.  Over 
against  the  boundless  wealth  which  God  has  given 
us  to  do  with,  we  see  the  accumulating  needs  and  op- 
portunities of  a  world  overcrowded  with  populations 
which  increase  much  faster  than  our  propagandism 
— always  poor,  more  or  less  indifferent,  and  yet  more 
and  more  demonstrating  the  truth  that  God  is  no 
respecter  of  persons  or  of  races.  We  see  the  native 
preachers  on  the  mission  fields  increased  from  hun- 
dreds to  thousands,  and  their  congregations  yet  too 
poor  to  assume  the  many  lines  of  Christian  work, 
and  we  ask  how  are  our  responsibilities  to  be  met. 
On  what  plan?  Shall  we  abolish  the  distinction  of 
*'home"  and  ''foreign,"  overlook  national  bound- 
aries and  even  the  wide  barriers  of  the  sea,  and  carry 
out  our  ecclesiastical  methods  and  our  divisions  of 
labor  and  of  contribution  in  all  lands  alike?  Shall 
the  churches  of  various  names  authorize  their  boards 

74 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

of  Church  Erection  to  build  churches  in  India  and 
China  as  well  as  in  Montana?  Shall  proportionate 
educational  aid  be  extended  to  students  for  the  min- 
istry in  Mexico  and  Brazil  as  well  as  at  Princeton? 
Shall  the  Boards  of  Publication  issue  their  printed 
pages  not  only  from  Philadelphia  or  New  York,  but 
from  Shanghai  and  Beirut?  Shall  the  great  Bible 
Societies  of  New  York  and  London,  assume  not  a 
part  as  now,  but  the  whole  work  of  supplying  the 
heathen  world  with  the  Word  of  God?  Were  there 
some  such  subdivisions  of  labor  and  responsibility 
as  these,  the  crushing  burdens  of  Foreign  Missionary 
Boards  would  be  greatly  relieved  and  their  supply  of 
funds,  such  as  it  is,  might  be  devoted  to  specific 
lines  of  work.  The  total  would  be  immensely  in- 
creased. The  time  may  not  have  arrived  for  so  radi- 
cal a  change,  but  in  the  not  distant  future  either  a 
change  of  the  methods  or  a  change  in  the  scale  must 
surely  come. 


75 


THE  PLACE  OF  HIGHER  EDUCATION  IN 
MISSIONARY  WORK 

Fifty  years  ago  a  spirited  discussion  prevailed  in 
American  missionary  circles  in  regard  to  schools  and 
education.  Within  the  last  decade  of  the  century 
the  relative  importance  of  mission  schools  and 
evangelization  has  again  been  widely  discussed. 

There  is  no  problem  in  missionary  policy  which  it 
is  more  difficult  to  solve,  owing  to  the  manifold  and 
often  conflicting  considerations  which  ought  to  be 
weighed.  The  wisest  conclusions  must  ever  be  open 
to  modification. 

The  late  Rev.  S.  H.  Kellogg,  D.  D.,  told  us  in  The 
Missionary  Review  of  the  World,  of  December, 
1898,  that  when  he  first  went  to  India  in  1865  he  had 
"a  strong  prepossession  against  educational  mission 
work,  but  that  after  many  years  of  experience  and 
observation  on  the  ground,  though  not  actually  en- 
gaged in  such  work,  he  "came  to  modify  the  ex- 
treme ground  then  taken."  In  his  able  and  discrim- 
inating article  in  the  Review  he  presented  many 
cogent  arguments  in  support  of  higher  education  in 
India  as  a  missionary  necessity.  But  again  in  his 
correspondence  written  later,   he  expressed  grave 

76 


\ 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

misgivings  in  view  of  the  political  dangers  of  high 
secular  education  under  the  conditions  now  prevail- 
ing in  India. 

Mr.  Benjamin  Kidd  in  his  Social  Evolution  has 
said  that  every  movement  by  which  this  altruistic  age 
seeks  to  raise  up  the  ignorant  and  depressed,  only 
prepares  them  more  and  more,  for  competition  with, 
and  perhaps  hostility  to,  their  benefactors;  that 
as  the  lower  classes  are  always  in  the  majority,  the 
power  thus  descends  from  the  higher  to  the  lower 
ranks ;  and  that  accordingly,  society  is  always  dying 
at  the  top.  Something  like  this  has  already  appeared 
as  a  result  of  Anglo-Indian  education,  and  to  some 
extent,  of  missionary  education.  Within  the  last 
year  it  has  been  found  that  university  graduates,  and 
some  who  had  been  regarded  as  loyal  sons  of  mission 
schools  and  of  the  Christian  church,  had  sympathized 
with  the  Mohammedan  uprisings  on  the  Afghan  bor- 
der, and  had  created  serious  apprehensions  for  the 
future.  The  personal  ambitions  of  educated  men  are 
always  strong;  they  are  weary  of  subjection  to  for- 
eign rule,  and  their  growing  consciousness  of  pa- 
triotism and  the  pride  of  race  are  so  much  fuel  stored 
up  for  any  great  political  conflagration  that  may 
occur.  The  possible  outcome  of  higher  secular  edu- 
cation at  a  time  when  Franco-Russian  diplomacy  and 
Mohammedan  fanaticism  are  alike  menacing  the 
British  Indian  Empire,  may  well  cause  some  hesita- 
tion— and  yet  shall  safety  be  found  in  popular  ignor- 
ance? 

77 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

It  remains  to  be  seen  how  far  the  same  dangers 
may  arise  in  the  American  attempt  to  enlighten  and 
elevate  the  inhabitants  of  Porto  Rico  and  the  Philip- 
pines. Doubtless  with  every  degree  of  improvement, 
the  desire  for  self-government  will  become  more 
active,  and  that  desire  will  always  outrun  any  real 
fitness  for  such  an  experiment. 

Mr.  Kidd  does  not  urge  his  theory  as  a  reason 
why  the  dictates  of  altruism  should  cease  to  act,  and 
men  should  forbear  to  benefit  their  f ellowmen ;  much 
less  should  missionary  policy  be  so  changed  as  to 
leave  the  benighted  in  ignorance  and  degradation. 
The  social  evolutionist  regards  the  present  altruistic 
movement  as  an  inevitable  and  irresistible  drift  in 
our  race  development;  the  Christian  recognizes  and 
obeys  a  far  higher  and  more  rational  force  which  he 
finds  in  a  divine  commission  and  an  all  controlling 
providence.  In  such  guidance  he  can  safely  trust. 
The  path  of  duty  must  sometimes  be  followed, 
though  its  entire  course  to  the  end  cannot  be  fore- 
seen. 

The  circumstances  and  conditions  of  educational 
work  differ,  not  only  in  different  lands,  but  also  in 
different  periods.  Some  of  the  expectations  which 
were  entertained  a  century  ago  have  been  disap- 
pointed; others  have  met  with  only  modified  fulfill- 
ment. It  was  understood  that  inveterate  systems  of 
error  would  need  to  be  overcome,  and  much  rubbish 
be  removed  before  the  superstructure  of  Christianity 
and  Christian  civilization  could  be  reared;  but  the 

78 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

church  was  not  quite  prepared  for  all  the  changes 
which  have  in  fact  occurred.  Very  generally  it  was 
supposed  to  be  the  wise  course  to  begin  with  the 
young  and  rise  from  primary  to  higher  grades  of 
schools, — encouraged  by  the  fact  that  so  much  had 
been  accomplished  by  general  education  in  Christian 
lands. 

But  perhaps  it  was  not  duly  considered  that  this 
general  education  had,  in  our  case,  been  a  slow 
growth,  and  that  its  sudden  introduction  among  peo- 
ples enthralled  by  old  heathen  customs,  and  steeped 
in  false  philosophies  might  develop  results  somewhat 
different  from  those  which  had  been  expected.  The 
task  undertaken  in  India  and  in  the  Turkish  Empire, 
for  example,  involved  the  impact  of  a  full-fledged 
civilization  upon  other  civilizations  which  were  also 
fully  developed  though  on  different  lines.  This  im- 
plied not  merely  persuasion,  but  gradual  revolution. 
Any  Hindu  at  the  beginning  of  this  century  would 
have  been  justified  in  a  prophecy  that  the  missions 
and  the  civilization  of  the  Anglo-Saxon,  if  success- 
ful, would  involve  the  overthrow  not  only  of  the  old 
Hinduism,  but  of  India's  social  and  political  institu- 
tions. Where  so  great  changes  are  liable  to  occur,  it 
is  impossible  to  foresee  all  the  results  of  education, 
and  especially  higher  education,  upon  a  non-Chris- 
tian race.  And  we  ought  not  to  be  surprised  if,  as  a 
result  of  our  progress  and  in  proportion  to  our 
progress,  even  greater  antagonisms  should  yet  rise 
up  against  our  missionary  work. 

79 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

One  result  of  higher  education  in  India  and  the 
Turkish  Empire,  taken  together  with  the  opening  of 
increased  commercial  relations  with  other  lands,  has 
been  the  awakening  of  an  ambition  to  seek  especially 
an  English  or  a  French  education  as  a  means  of  busi- 
ness thrift.  The  spirit  developed  has  been  disap- 
pointing to  the  missionaries  who  had  hoped  for  con- 
secrated lives  enlisted  in  winning  men  to  the  Cross, 
but  who  have  found  instead  of  this,  an  all-absorbing 
desire  to  secure  advantageous  positions  in  govern- 
mental or  commercial  employments.  Moreover,  it 
has  been  found  very  generally,  that  the  education  of 
young  men  in  the  great  seaport  cities,  where  they 
were  subjected  to  a  controlling  cosmopolitan  in- 
fluence, has  been  attended  with  more  or  less  dena- 
tionalization. Many  young  men  from  Mt.  Lebanon, 
trained  in  Beirut,  or  Armenians  from  Central  Tur- 
key, educated  at  Constantinople,  have  been  quick  to 
catch  the  foreign  spirit,  to  assume  foreign  airs,  and 
to  develop  from  their  education  a  positive  unfitness 
for  the  humble  walks  of  missionary  life  among  their 
countrymen  in  the  rural  districts.  A  later  outcome 
of  the  same  general  influence,  has  been  the  creation 
of  a  desire  to  visit  Europe  or  America  to  obtain  a 
still  higher  education,  generally  with  a  professed 
purpose  to  return  to  a  greater  usefulness  at  home; 
but  sooner  or  later  disclosing  an  ambition  to  be 
placed  upon  the  footing  and  the  salary  of  a  foreign 
missionary. 

And  the  influence  of  this  movement  has  not  been 
80 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

confined  to  those  who  have  been  selected  as  candi- 
dates for  the  ministry  or  for  teaching,  but  has  ex- 
tended to  hundreds  of  others  in  various  ranks  of 
Hfe.  Colonies  of  Armenians,  Syrians,  Bulgarians, 
Persians,  are  now  found  in  our  American  cities,  and 
the  whole  movement  in  its  far-reaching  influence 
seems  to  promise  a  serious  depletion  of  the  ranks  of 
intelligent  youth  who  ought  to  be  trained  at  home 
as  Christian  laborers. 

Another  unexpected  result  of  foreign  education, 
particularly  English  education,  has  been  the  rehabili- 
tation of  the  old  false  systems  which  it  was  our  pur- 
pose to  overthrow.  In  India  the  educated  young 
men  of  the  present  generation  have,  through  West- 
ern influence,  been  made  familiar,  as  never  before, 
with  their  own  faiths  and  philosophies.  This  has  not 
all  been  accomplished  by  missionary  institutions,  but 
more  largely  by  those  under  the  auspices  of  the  gov- 
ernment ;  yet,  to  some  extent,  our  own  English  edu- 
cation has  led  on  to  the  same  results.  While  we  have 
greatly  extended  the  English  language  as  a  medium 
of  enlightenment,  there  has  been  a  revival  of  San- 
scrit learning  with  extensive  expurgated  translations 
of  Sanscrit  literature  into  English,  so  that  hundreds 
have  been  made  acquainted  with  their  own  systems, 
through  our  language  acquired  in  the  mission 
schools.  These  changes  in  the  attitude  and  equip- 
ment of  young  India  render  it  necessary  that  some 
adequate  knowledge  of  the  Hindu  religions  and  phi- 


8i 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

losophies  should  be  acquired  by  all  who  would  be 
successful  missionaries. 

Our  agnostic  speculations  also  have  found  their 
way  to  India  and  Japan.  As  a  result  of  the  investi- 
gations of  a  society  formed  in  Calcutta  for  the  dif- 
fusion of  a  wholesome  literature,  it  was  found  that 
Western  infidelity  in  various  forms  was  making 
quite  as  large  a  use  of  the  English  language  in  the 
diffusion  of  infidel  and  immoral  books  and  pam- 
phlets, as  that  of  all  missionary  boards  and  societies 
taken  together.  And  such  literature  has  this  advan- 
tage, that  wealthy  rajahs  and  others  more  or  less 
hostile  to  Christian  propagandism  are  ready  to  con- 
tribute largely  for  the  circulation  of  the  writings  of 
Bradlaugh,  Ingersoll,  and  Alcott,  while  such  help  is 
not  found  in  the  dissemination  of  Christian  books. 
Then  as  to  the  literature  of  vice,  French  novels  of 
the  worst  type,  translated  into  cheap  English  forms, 
were  found  to  be  extensively  imported  as  business 
ventures,  by  corrupt  and  unscrupulous  men.  The  ex- 
tent of  this  evil  is  appalling. 

A  similar  state  of  things  has  appeared  in  Siam, 
where  the  late  Dr.  Arthur  Mitchell,  when  on  a  visit 
a  few  years  ago,  was  informed  that  the  high  officials 
of  the  Government  were  receding  from  their  favora- 
ble attitude  toward  female  education,  for  the  reason 
that  the  Siamese  women  and  girls  who  had  learned 
to  read,  were  being  corrupted  by  the  vile  literature 
which  was  thrown  upon  the  market  at  Bangkok. 
Such  discouragements  as  these  should  not  be  allowed 

82 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

too  great  weight,  but  it  is  well  to  recognize  the  fact 
that  tares  are  sown  abundantly  with  the  wheat,  and 
that  if  the  true  husbandmen  are  not  alert  the  tares 
may  exceed  the  harvest. 

Another  consideration  which  has  raised  some 
question  as  to  the  policy  of  missionary  education,  is 
the  alleged  fact  that  in  proportion  to  the  great  ex- 
penditure made  by  certain  societies,  especially  en- 
gaged in  the  higher  training,  the  number  of  conver- 
sions has  seemed  small  as  compared  with  the  results 
gained  by  other  societies  devoted  mainly  to  evan- 
gelistic work.  A  spirit  of  discontent  with  these  re- 
sults has  sometimes  manifested  itself  in  the  churches, 
and  has  been  made  a  matter  of  criticism  by  the 
secular  press,  with  invidious  comparisons  as  to  the 
relative  ''cost  of  a  convert." 

Now,  a  thoroughly  enlightened  estimate  would,  of 
course,  make  little  account  of  these  criticisms,  and 
would  place  greater  value  upon  the  broader  scope  of 
future  results.  Still  these  complaints  have  not  been 
easy  to  meet ;  and  more  or  less  in  response  to  a  popu- 
lar feeling,  certain  societies  have  been  organized  with 
the  paramount  aim  of  direct  evangelization,  and  their 
undenominational  work  based  upon  that  policy,  has 
won  a  large  degree  of  sympathy  and  support.  ''In- 
stitutionalism,"  as  it  is  sometimes  rather  slightingly 
called,  has  been  held  at  a  discount,  and  men  have 
plead  for  the  direct  work  of  preaching  the  Gospel  as 
a  message  to  the  adults  of  this  generation.  In 
answer     to     the     argument     of     the     "seed-sow- 

83 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

ers,"  it  has  been  said  that  the  fifty  or  sixty 
years  of  seed-sowing  that  have  been  spent  in 
some  fields  ought  by  this  time  to  bring  forth 
plentiful  harvests;  that  the  great  work  demanded  by 
the  present  generation  of  dying  men  cannot  be  longer 
sacrificed  to  the  w^ork  of  teaching  a  limited  number 
from  whom  results  are  to  be  expected  in  the  distant 
years  to  come.  Under  the  influence  of  these  various 
disappointments  and  difficulties,  it  is  not  strange  that 
the  whole  question  of  missionary  education  should 
have  come  up  for  re-examination,  and  that  a  feeling 
in  favor  of  placing  greater  emphasis  upon  the  direct 
work  of  preaching  the  Gospel  to  men  and  women  as 
it  was  proclaimed  in  the  days  of  the  apostles,  should 
have  come  to  demand  greater  attention.  In  most  of 
the  missionary  organizations  represented  in  the 
various  conferences  which  have  been  held,  not  by 
Americans  only,  but  by  representatives  of  European 
societies,  there  has  been  an  increasing  conviction  that 
the  relative  proportions  in  missionary  effort  should 
possibly  be  somewhat  changed,  and  that  all  friends  of 
missions  should  be  emboldened  to  ask  for  abundant 
harvests  now^  or  soon,  in  the  fields  in  which  for  so 
long  a  time  institutional  work  of  all  kinds  has  been 
carried  on,  and  where,  as  yet,  the  results  are  pro- 
portionately small. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  let  us  fairly  weigh  some 
considerations  which  urge  the  maintenance  and  the 
advantages  of  higher  education.  Those  who  have 
read  the  reports  of  the  late  Parliament  of  Religions 

84 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

at  Chicago,  in  1893  must  have  reached  the  conclu- 
sion that  the  Church  in  her  conquest  of  at  least  some 
of  the  non-Christian  races,  must  expect  to  cope  with 
men  of  a  high  order  of  intellect ;  men  well  trained  in 
the  principles  of  their  own  faiths  and  philosophies; 
men  who  have  been  stimulated  and  emboldened  by 
the  fellowship  and  encouragement  of  every  form  of 
infidelity  from  our  own  land;  men  who  have  been 
made  familiar  with  all  the  weaknesses  and  blemishes 
found  in  the  history  of  the  Christian  church;  men 
who  are  stung  with  indignation  at  the  outrages 
which,  almost  universally  in  the  East  and  in  the 
islands  of  the  sea,  are  visited  upon  weaker  races  by 
representatives  of  Christian  nations. 

First,  it  is  evident  that  some  at  least  of  our  mis- 
sionaries must  be  able  defenders  of  the  truth  against 
manifold  error.  At  a  summer  school  attended  by 
about  400  young  native  ministers  and  teachers  in 
Japan  a  few  years  ago,  a  summary  of  conclusions 
Vv-as  reached,  one  of  which  was,  in  substance,  this: 
"We  do  not  deem  it  necessary  that  many  more  mis- 
sionaries shall  be  sent  us  from  America  to  preach 
the  Gospel  to  the  masses  of  our  people.  The  ordi- 
nary work  of  preaching  can  be  done  quite  as  well  by 
educated  men  of  our  own  race.  JBut  if  our  friends 
across  the  ocean  can  send  us  men  capable  of  becom- 
ing leaders,  able  to  teach  us  how  we  may  grapple 
with  rival  systems  of  religion  or  philosophy,  and  all 
the  burning  questions  which  confront  us,  then  the 
more  they  send  the  better."     Now,  such  a  demand 

85 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

means  not  only  a  high  grade  of  training  for  our  mis- 
sionaries, or  some  of  them,  but  also  for  leading 
minds  in  the  native  church,  for  they  especially  will 
encounter  the  well-trained  opposers. 

I  know  how  cheap  and  easy  it  is  to  answer  all 
this  by  the  taking  plea,  that  ''what  our  missionaries 
need  is  a  knowledge  of  Christ  and  Him  crucified." 
But  Paul  also  knew  something  about  Christ  and  Him 
crucified;  and  yet  in  placing  young  Titus  as  a  mis- 
sionary among  the  caviling  and  besotted  inhabitants 
of  Crete,  he  enjoined  upon  him  that  careful  prepara- 
tion which  should  enable  him  ''to  convince  the  gain- 
sayers,"  the  vain  talkers,  and  deceivers,  "whose 
mouths  must  be  stopped."  And  these  were  not  mere 
babes  in  knowledge,  but  were  trained  and  skillful 
cavilers,  belonging — some  of  them — to  "the  circum- 
cision," and  their  mouths  were  to  be  stopped,  not 
with  sanctimonious  platitudes  nor  sweeping  denun- 
ciations, but  with  sound  arguments. 

For  several  years  The  Japan  Mail  published  a 
monthly  resume  of  the  utterances  of  all  religious  and 
anti-religious  systems.  It  has  maintained  in  reality, 
a  continuous  Parliament  of  Religions  along  the  same 
line  as  that  of  Chicago  in  1893.  Some  of  the  edu- 
cated Japanese,  hostile  to  the  Christian  faith,  have 
shown  surprising  familiarity  with  our  faith  and  our 
church  history,  especially  its  alleged  blemishes.  And 
Mr.  Hirai,  on  the  floor  of  the  Chicago  Parliament, 
hurled  back  the  dark  and  blighting  record  of  the  un- 
just diplomacy  of  Christian  nations  in  a  way  which 

^6 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

only  a  thoroughly  informed  missionary  could  answer. 
I  cite  these  facts  in  order  to  show  that  not  only 
missionaries,  but  at  least  some  of  our  native  preach- 
ers and  teachers,  must  be  fitted  to  defend  the  Chris- 
tian faith  against  powerful  opponents,  and  to  show 
the  difference  between  the  attitudes  of  the  Christian 
church  of  the  West  and  the  nations  of  the  West. 
One  of  the  greatest  necessities  of  our  age  is,  that  we 
shall  have  here  at  home  educational  facilities  which 
shall  enable  chosen  men  by  life-long  study  to  speak 
with  authority  on  all  the  great  issues  by  which  the 
Christian  faith  is  confronted.  And  the  same  need 
will  be  felt,  nay,  is  being  felt,  on  some  of  our  foreign 
fields.  In  educated  circles  in  Japan  there  is,  I  think, 
greater  attention  given  to  religious  thought  than 
among  us.  However  we  may  account  for  that  fact, 
the  Japanese  are  philosophers  by  a  sort  of  instinct. 
The  people  of  India  are,  perhaps,  the  most  religious 
and  the  most  metaphysical  of  any  nation  on  the 
globe.  Their  literatures  show  that  in  remote  ages 
profound  philosophies  were  elaborated,  evincing  the 
deepest  penetration  into  the  mysteries  of  life  and  the 
nature  and  tendencies  of  the  human  soul.  Here,  it  is 
alleged,  we  have  been  busy  with  material  things; 
there,  religious  speculation  has  long  held  the  larger 
place.  The  Vedic  Magazine,  published  in  Hindi,  and 
in  English,  at  Lahore,  has  presented  some  very  caus- 
tic criticisms  upon  the  habits  and  the  characteristics 
of  the  average  Anglo-Saxon.  It  characterizes  him 
as  a  beef-eating  and  beer-drinking  type  of  man, 

87 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

whose  luxurious  life  renders  him  incapable  of  spir- 
itual contemplation.  His  civilization  is  one  of  ma- 
terial forces  only,  and  his  only  real  worship  is  that 
of  outward  display  or  hoarded  pelf.  The  same  mag- 
azine quoted  a  few  years  ago  some  of  ex-President 
Andrew  D.  White's  startling  revelations  of  the  cor- 
ruptions of  American  municipal  government,  and 
held  them  up  to  thoughtful  Orientals  as  a  specimen 
of  the  results  of  Western  civilization.  This  genera- 
tion needs  a  new  apologetic.  It  is  no  longer  the  old 
battle  with  gnostics  and  manichaeans,  nor  the  later 
controversies  with  English  deists  or  French  en- 
cyclopedists; there  are  special  issues  that  concern  us 
now.  And  as  the  battle-ground  will  be  not  here 
alone,  but  on  some  of  our  great  mission  fields,  shall 
we  not  prepare  some  of  our  native  preachers  and 
teachers  to  act  well  their  part  ?  If  so,  we  must  pay 
some  attention  to  the  highest  missionary  education. 
I  have  already  alluded  to  the  fact  that  young  men 
in  India  and  Japan  are  well  furnished  with  all  the 
stock  arguments  against  the  Christian  faith,  and  that 
they  know  how  to  use  them.  A  young  Hindu,  about 
seventeen  years  of  age,  said  to  his  Bible-class  teacher, 
*'Do  you  say  that  God  made  the  world  for  His  own 
glory?"  ''Yes."  ''Did  it  increase  His  glory?" 
"Yes."  "Then  how  could  He  be  infinite  at  first?" 
Another  youth  said,  "Do  you  hold  that  God  is  every- 
where present?  Is  He  in  every  visible  object  and 
even  within  us?"  "Yes."  "Then  He  is  in  that  idol 
yonder,  is  He  not,  and  that  is  what  we  have  always 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

held."  It  is  evidently  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  we 
have  simply  and  only  to  tell  the  story  of  the  Cross. 
That  there  is  a  very  important — nay  a  chief  place  for 
that  simple  and  direct  work,  I  hope  to  show  farther 
on ;  and  although  there  are  paid  pundits  employed  for 
the  purpose  of  interrupting  the  bazaar  preacher  with 
perplexing  questions,  it  is  a  wise  rule  to  avoid  dis- 
cussions, if  possible.  But  the  idea  that  either  the 
missionary  or  the  native  preacher  needs  only  to  be 
taught  the  principles  of  our  Christian  religion,  and 
that  they  can  always  meet  the  oppositions  of  heathen 
systems  by  ignoring  them,  is  preposterous.  If  it 
should  turn  out  in  any  of  the  great  battle-fields  of 
religious  thought  that  Christianity,  with  all  its 
claims  to  intellectual  superiority,  had  shown  itself 
unable  to  defend  its  doctrines  or  its  history  against 
the  assailments  of  skilful  Orientals,  supposed  to  be 
ignorant  ''heathen,"  it  v/ould  be  a  disaster  to  the 
cause  of  truth.  Christianity  w^ould  come  to  be  looked 
upon  with  contempt  by  those  whom  we  have  pro- 
fessed to  enlighten,  and  this  discomfiture  on  the  mis- 
sion fields  would  soon  cast  its  reflex  influence  upon 
the  whole  position  of  the  Church  at  home.  It  is  to  be 
borne  in  mind  that  the  world  is  one  at  last,  and  that 
with  respect  to  religious  thought,  the  boundaries  of 
nationality  are  forever  lost.  The  Parliament  of  Re- 
ligions has  come  to  stay.  It  began  long  before  the 
Chicago  committee  had  thought  of  it.  Truth  must 
everywhere  be  equipped  for  her  final  victory  over 
error. 

89 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

Again,  not  merely  in  religious  thought  and  specu- 
lative philosophy,  including  a  study  of  all  sacred 
books,  but  in  science  and  in  history,  Christianity 
must  have  a  hand  on  all  the  greater  mission  fields. 
A  warped  and  distorted  science  taking  possession  of 
leading  minds,  and  more  or  less  affecting  every  class, 
would  constitute  one  of  the  worst  barriers  to  the  in- 
culcation of  Christian  truth.  For  example  the  wide 
prevalence  of  materialistic  evolution,  claiming  to  cut 
up  by  the  roots  all  the  religious  cosmogonies  of  the 
world — that  of  Genesis  as  well  as  that  of  the  Brah- 
manasorof  Manu — will,  if  left  unchallenged  in  India 
or  Japan,  throw  contempt  upon  our  Christian  Bible 
and  largely  upon  the  whole  teaching  of  the  Christian 
church. 

In  the  above  named  article  by  Dr.  Kellogg,  the 
writer  says  with  respect  to  the  importance  of  instruc- 
tion to  native  students  in  science:  'They  need  to 
know  that  as  the  late  George  Romanes  has  said,  the 
great  advance  of  scientific  knowledge  in  our  day  has 
done  far  more  for  Christianity  than  against  it.  In 
his  Thoughts  on  Religion,  edited  by  Canon  Gore, 
astronomy,  chemistry,  electrical  science,  geology, 
biology,  and  even  mathematics,  when  studied  with 
the  eye  on  the  mathematics  of  nature,  all  bear  con- 
sentient testimony  to  the  falsehood  alike  of  panthe- 
ism  and  materialism,  and  point  unmistakably  to  the 
existence  of  a  Supreme  Being,  who  is  not  merely  the 
material  ground  of  being,  not  merely  a  vague,  im- 
personal ''power  that  makes  for  righteousness,"  but 

90 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

a  God  who  is  living  and  personal,  the  Creator  and 
Lord  of  all.  Christian  teachers  need  to  press  these 
things  on  the  educated  men  of  non-Christian  lands, 
and  to  let  them  clearly  understand  that  these  and 
other  sublime  and  momentous  inferences  from  the 
phenomena  of  the  universe,  have  been  regarded  as 
the  inevitable  by  a  large  number  of  the  greatest 
scientific  men  of  our  day.  They  ought  to  know  that 
such  men  as  Clerk  Maxwell,  Lord  Kelvin,  Balfour, 
Stewart,  Young,  Secchi,  Mivart,  and  many  of  their 
peers  have  not  been  ashamed  to  express  this  convic- 
tion." 

And  there  is  a  like  demand  in  the  sphere  of  ethics. 
That  an  entirely  secular  education  left  in  the  hands 
of  the  governments,  and  dealing  chiefly  with  schools 
of  philosophy  and  of  science,  would  in  time  over- 
throw the  religious  teachings  of  Hinduism,  or  the 
Buddhist  and  Shinto  faiths  of  Japan,  goes  without 
saying.  If,  then,  advanced  Christian  instruction 
should  be  withheld,  what  basis  of  ethics  would  be 
left? 

And  this  difficulty  is  already  being  recognized  and 
seriously  felt  in  some  eastern  lands.  The  disciples 
of  Huxley  and  Herbert  Spencer  in  Japan  have  been 
trying  to  devise  an  ethical  basis  which  would  meet 
the  wants  of  the  people  without  recourse  to  the  ethics 
of  the  New  Testament.  And  if  a  race  like  the 
Hindus  are  by  their  education  divested  of  their  own 
religious  faith,  and  left  with  no  substitute,  by  what 
ethical  restraints  or  promptings  will  that  race  be  in- 

91 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

fluenced?  I  am  told  that  certain  administrators  of 
the  India  government,  after  a  long  experiment  of 
mere  secular  training,  which  has  left  the  minds  of 
thousands  of  educated  youth  stranded  on  the  dreary 
wastes  of  agnosticism  and  without  fear  of  God  or 
man,  are  convinced  that  this  policy  is  fatal,  and  the 
most  thoughtful  minds  are  turning  to  Christian  mis- 
sions with  increasing  favor  as  the  only  thing  that 
can  supply  the  deficiency  and  save  the  nation  from 
becoming  morally  bankrupt. 

The  ethical  condition  of  a  country  in  which  the 
old  systems  have  lost  their  power  and  Christian 
ethics  have  not  gained  a  controlling  force,  is  well  il- 
lustrated in  the  following  extract  from  a  Japanese 
paper  called  the  Jiji  Shimpo  and  quoted  in  The  Japan 
Weekly  Mail  of  November  12,  1898.  'Tn  the  world 
of  ethics  we  find  this  party  preaching  the  new  code; 
that  advocating  the  old.  Here  are  men  crying  out 
for  woman's  rights  and  the  honor  of  monogamy; 
there  may  be  seen  others  who  pride  themselves  on 
keeping  several  mistresses.  In  one  circle  nothing  is 
heard  but  applause  for  the  immemorial  canons  of 
filial  piety  and  patriotic  loyalty :  men  sacrifice  their 
lives  without  a  qualm  at  the  dictates  of  leal  fidelity, 
and  girls  sell  themselves  into  a  life  of  shame  to  sup- 
port their  parents.  But  turn  in  another  direction 
and  you  shall  hear  equally  strident  sermons  preached 
about  personal  freedom  and  popular  government.  In 
truth  it  may  be  said  that  Japan  is  at  present  in  a  state 
of  chaos.    The  obvious  role  to  be  played  by  statesmen 

92 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

in  such  a  season  of  seething  transformation  is  to 
obey  the  dictates  of  moderation  and  liberaHty,  and 
to  suffer  the  course  of  evolution  to  proceed  without 
interruption.  The  fittest  will  survive,  and  the  fittest 
must  be  suffered  to  work  out  its  own  salvation.  Yet 
in  certain  directions  freedom  of  movement  is  merci- 
lessly checked  and  sharp  restraints  are  imposed. 
Such  abuses  are  notably  apparent  in  the  spheres  of 
education  and  religion.  Legislators  and  adminis- 
trators hamper  the  free  course  of  evolution;  interfere 
with  the  working  of  the  great  law  of  the  survival 
of  the  fittest,  and  postpone  the  nation's  emergence 
from  a  state  of  chaos." 

The  question  has  been  raised,  and  I  refer  to  it  in 
this  close  connection,  whether  it  might  not  be  better  for 
missionary  societies  to  dispense  with  governmental 
stipends  which  are  given  toward  the  support  of  theii 
educational  institutions  in  India.  Were  the  restric- 
tions as  stringent  as  those  imposed  by  the  govern- 
ment of  Austria  upon  all  Protestant  missionary  oper- 
ations, there  might  be  reason  for  rejecting  such  aid; 
but  such  is  not  the  case  in  India;  and  surely  if  the 
o-overnment  is  looking  to  Missions  for  their  moral 
influence  in  the  great  issues  which  have  arisen,  we 
should  not  be  slow  to  enter  into  that  alliance  so  far 
as  the  demands  of  other  forms  of  v/ork  shall  permit. 
It  is  not  to  be  overlooked  that  if  Christian  mis- 
sionaries in  a  country  like  India  or  Japan  were  to 
withdraw  from  the  work  of  higher  education,  Chris- 
tianity would  be  the  only  prominent  religion  to  aban- 

93 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

don  the  control  of  the  more  thoughtful  classes,  and  it 
would  at  once  take  a  very  subordinate  place  in  the 
arena  of  conflicting  religious  thought.  The  govern- 
ment schools  in  India,  though  under  the  supreme 
control  of  a  Christian  empire,  will  not  undertake 
the  advocacy  of  the  Christian  faith.  Meanwhile 
Mohammedans  have  a  college  at  Alighar,  the  Arya 
Somaj  has  established  one  at  Lahore,  and  Madame 
Besant  and  her  theosophic  friends,  having  already  a 
college  at  Benares,  are  trying  to  raise  it  to  the  su- 
preme grade  of  a  great  national  university.  The 
plea  of  its  eloquent  advocate  is  that  the  government 
education  is  destitute  of  religious  elements  and  that 
the  Hindu  religion  in  its  modern  theosophic  form 
must  be  inculcated  if  the  country  is  to  be  saved  from 
ruin.  All  these  institutions,  and  especially  those  of 
the  Aryas  and  the  theosophists  will  maintain  per- 
sistent warfare  upon  Christianity.  They  will,  how- 
ever, inconsistently  with  their  own  grotesque  teach- 
ings, claim  fellowship  with  Western  agnosticism  in 
heralding  the  alleged  victory  of  science  over  our  tra- 
ditional faith  and  will  join  in  the  proud  assumption 
that  Christianity  is  obsolete  and  dead.  There  should 
be  educated  Christian  natives  who  can  overthrow 
their  allegations.  In  Japan  the  non-Christian  grad- 
uates of  Tokyo  University  already  assume  a  super- 
cilious air  of  contempt  for  the  grades  of  education 
found  in  the  missionary  colleges  and  training  schools, 
and  this  ground  also  must  be  contested. 

The  old  universities  of  the  non-Christian  systems, 
94 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

as  for  example  the  Azar  or  Mohammedan  university 
in  Cairo  and  the  Vedantin  colleges  of  Benares  have 
less  sympathy  with  Western  science  and  specula- 
tions, and  are  not  likely  to  show  direct  and  active 
rivalry  with  Christian  schools;  they  pursue  in  the 
old  dignified  way  the  stereotyped  and  age-long 
methods  which  have  seemed  all  sufficient  and  beyond 
the  possible  need  of  changes.  But  the  mere  vis  iner- 
tia of  their  influence  upon  Hindu  and  Mohammedan 
thought  constitutes  a  powerful  obstacle.  Only  the 
prevalence  of  general  knowledge  such  as  higher  edu- 
cation imparts  can  break  the  power  of  that  arrogant 
conceit  which  these  institutions  promote  and  foster. 
Viewed  then  in  the  light  of  rival  propaganda,  the  ne- 
cessity for  Christian  education  would  seem  to  be 
clear.  That  education  cannot  be  confined  to  religious 
teaching,  that  it  must  have  reference  to  the 
environments  and  rivalries  which  the  pupils 
must  encounter  both  in  the  present  and  in 
the  subsequent  life,  is  clear,  and  it  should 
not  be  forgotten  that  a  public  and  ubiquitous 
press  with  its  millions  of  pages,  good,  bad  and  indif- 
ferent, is  to  be  taken  into  account.  However  we 
might  hedge  our  schools  about,  their  pupils  could  not 
be  isolated  for  long.  They  would  as  readers  be  edu- 
cated by  the  printed  page,  and  nothing  could  sepa- 
rate them  from  the  general  drift  of  society  around 
them.  Even  from  the  women  the  zenana  walls  are 
not  thick  enough  nor  strong  enough  to  entirely  ex- 


95 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

elude  the  pulse  and  movement  of  the  outside  nine- 
teenth century  spirit. 

But  in  all  that  I  have  said  I  would  not  be  under- 
stood as  maintaining  that  a  large  proportion  of  our 
missionary  expenditure  should  be  given  to  what  is 
called  university  education  in  a  country  like  India  or 
Japan.  I  notice  that  in  the  reports  of  missionary 
conferences  held  in  India,  and  in  published  articles 
written  on  the  field,  one  solution  has  generally  been 
proposed  for  all  the  difficulties  which  have  been 
named,  namely  this :  "Increase  your  force,  man  your 
institutions  more  thoroughly,  and  make  this  higher 
education  a  power."  But  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
home  treasuries  the  difficulties  are  less  easily  settled. 
What  if  every  year  a  missionary  board  is  compelled 
to  choose  between  one  desirable  form  of  work  and 
another?  Can  we  in  good  conscience  spend  twenty- 
five  or  fifty  thousand  dollars  in  the  plant  or  the  pro- 
fessorships of  a  college  for  general  education,  when 
that  means  a  retention  of  eight  or  ten  missionary 
evangelists  who  otherwise  might  be  sent,  or  when  it 
must  necessitate  the  dismissal  of,  or  at  least  the  fail- 
ure to  employ,  forty  or  fifty  native  preachers  who 
might  go  among  the  people  publishing  the  simple 
Gospel?  While  considering  the  needs  of  the  higher 
classes,  we  must  not  forget  the  millions  of  the  utterly 
benighted  who  will  pass  away  in  the  few  years  of 
this  generation.  While  on  his  last  visit  to  this  coun- 
try Mr,  P.  C.  Mozoomdar,  after  speaking  of  the  dif- 
ferent schools  of  Indian  philosophy,  aaid  that  of  the 

9^ 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

nearly  three  hundred  millions  of  India,  at  least  two 
hundred  and  twenty-five  millions  are  of  the  simplest 
and  most  ignorant  classes,  who  know  nothing  of 
abstruse  systems  or  of  sacred  books,  but  are  deluded 
by  the  most  degrading  superstitions.  Surely  here  is 
a  waiting  vineyard  for  a  class  of  laborers  who  can 
make  little  claim  to  scholarship.  And  it  is  a  grave 
practical  question  how  far  a  missionary  board  ought 
to  use  its  funds  in  large  stipends  for  expensive  high 
schools  and  colleges  in  the  Roman  Catholic  countries 
of  Spanish  and  Portuguese  America,  or  among  the 
effete  Christian  sects  of  the  Levant,  when  there  are 
such  calls  as  this  for  the  much  cheaper  evangelistic 
work  among  nations  who  have  never  even  heard  of 
Christ. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  necessity  of  sending  out 
some  thoroughly  qualified  missionaries  who  shall  be 
able  to  grapple  with  every  form  of  error;  and  I 
would  have  every  man  to  some  extent  understand 
the  customs  and  beliefs  of  the  people  among  whom 
he  is  to  labor;  but  I  wish  it  to  be  distinctly  under- 
stood that  I  would  gladly  see  the  great  majority  of 
our  missionaries  giving  themselves  to  the  direct  proc- 
lamation of  the  truth,  or  to  the  training  of  native 
preachers  by  short,  practical  courses  in  which  the 
spiritual  element  should  preponderate.  They  should 
then  lead  them  forth  as  helpers  to  an  organized  work 
in  the  country  villages,  where  they  would  be  less  lia- 
ble to  disturbance  from  the  paid  agents  of  the  Aryas 
who  are  employed  to  thv/art  their  efforts  by  their 

97 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

shrewd  questionings.  I  most  earnestly  advocate  a 
great  preponderance  on  the  side  of  evangeUstic  work. 
If  it  is  true  that  in  Japan  there  is  a  native  ministry 
who  can  now  best  do  the  work  of  preaching  to  the 
masses,  that  condition  certainly  does  not  obtain  in 
the  country  districts  of  India  or  among  the  millions 
of  China,  or  in  Siam  and  Laos,  least  of  all  among 
the  interior  tribes  of  Africa.  If  we  were  concerned 
with  plans  for  this  generation  only,  and  were  not 
laying  foundations  for  an  extended  future,  I  am  not 
sure  but  it  would  be  the  part  of  wisdom  to  concen- 
trate all  our  force  and  all  our  possible  expenditure 
upon  the  direct  work  of  preaching  the  Gospel  to  the 
neglected  millions  of  to-day.  But  we  cannot  thus 
neglect  the  foundations  for  the  future.  While  on  the 
one  hand  we  ought  to  labor  for  the  men  of  to-day  as 
if  Christ  were  soon  to  come  and  this  generation  were 
to  be  the  last,  on  the  other  hand  we  ought  to  lay 
plans  as  broadly  and  deeply  as  if  assured  that  many 
generations  are  yet  to  follow. 

In  deciding  thoughtfully  and  wisely  where  we 
shall  place  the  emphasis,  we  should  not  wander  too 
far  from  the  New  Testament  plan.  There  is,  of 
course,  an  important  differential.  This  is  far  more 
an  age  of  books  and  of  schools  than  was  the  apos- 
tolic age.  The  late  Christopher  Robert,  while  speak- 
ing of  the  college  in  Constantinople,  and  similar  en- 
terprises, once  said  to  me  that  "perhaps  if  Paul  had 
established  a  Christian  college  at  Antioch,  the  Seven 
Churches  of  Asia  would  have  had  a  better  history." 

98 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

That  was  one  view  of  the  question  before  us;  but  if 
Paul,  on  the  other  hand,  had  spent  his  hfe  as  a  pro- 
fessor of  science  and  philosophy  at  Antioch,  would 
the  Christian  church  have  made  equal  advances  into 
Macedonia  and  the  Roman  Empire?  Would  subse- 
quent ages  have  received  an  equivalent  for  the  theo- 
logical and  spiritual  teaching  which  we  now  find  in 
the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  and  in  the  Epistles?  It 
might  have  been  claimed  by  the  church  at  Antioch 
that  scholarly  work  was  an  important  ''seed-sow- 
ing;" but  what  was  Paul's  great  and  world-wide 
mission  work  but  a  seed-sowing  that  has  blessed 
many  nations  and  made  Christianity  a  power  for  all 
time  ?  / 

An  impression  seems  to  have  prevailed  with  many 
since  the  great  Parliament  of  Religions,  that  learned 
Hindus,  Buddhists,  and  Confucianists  have  become 
too  wise  in  our  day  to  afford  any  warrant  for 
further  missionary  effort  on  our  part;  and  in  Japan 
something  like  intolerance  is  beginning  to  be  shown 
toward  the  propagandists  of  our  faith.  But  even  if 
our  way  were  closed  it  would  be  nothing  new  in  the 
world;  there  never  has  been  a  time  when,  if  one  door 
were  shut,  there  were  not  other  calls  farther  on.  Our 
Savior's  command  in  such  cases  was  to  simply 
move  on  till  there  was  found  a  better  welcome. 
When  Israel  turned  a  deaf  ear,  the  Gospel  was  borne 
to  the  Gentiles.  And  there  is  no  lack  of  needy  mil- 
lions to-day  who  will  receive  the  truth  gladly.  The 
late  Dr.  Duff  once  remarked  that  possibly  the  sys- 

99 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

tern  of  caste  in  India  would  yet  be  regarded  as  one 
of  the  most  important  and  helpful  factors  in  the  great 
work  of  missions,  his  idea  being  that  those  despised 
classes  who  have  least  to  hope  for  from  their  own 
systems,  who  have  least  self-complacency  and  Aryan 
pride,  may  be  the  first  to  receive  with  readiness  and 
delight  the  Gospel  which  respects  their  manhood  and 
proclaims  the  love  of  that  God  who  hath  made  of  one 
blood  all  nations  and  all  castes  of  mankind.  The 
village  work  of  the  American  Methodist  missions  in 
Northern  India,  and  that  of  the  Baptist  missions  in 
Southern  India,  would  seem  to  indicate  that  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  low-caste  people  and  even 
whole  communities,  may  yet  be  won  to  the  Cross  of 
Christ.  God  grant  that  such  may  be  the  future  reali- 
zation of  all  mission  work  in  India.  God  grant  that 
in  our  own  generation  we  may  witness  an  upheaval 
of  this  sub-soil  of  degraded  Hinduism  that  shall 
overthrow  all  the  superstructures  that  the  pride  of 
caste  has  reared  upon  it. 

Already  there  are  found  among  these  low-caste 
people  bright  and  responsive  minds,  Avhich,  under 
the  influence  of  the  truth,  develop  a  Christian  man- 
hood quite  unlooked  for.  With  a  widespread  evan- 
gelization, and  with  the  fair  play  of  the  British  rule, 
who  shall  say  that  a  New  India  may  not  arise  from 
the  lower  ranks?  We  have  considered  the  need  of 
higher  education.  We  have  also  recognized  the  su- 
preme importance  of  reaching  in  the  most  direct  way 
the  masses  that  are  perisliing  in  our  own  generation, 

lOO 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

and  here  we  have  placed  the  emphasis.     Now,  be- 
tween these  two  Unes  of  work  there  is  a  wide  sphere 
of  effort  whose  importance  cannot  be  over-estimated. 
Obviously  this  wide  propagandism  which  I  have  in- 
dicated must  require  a  large  force  of  preachers  and 
teachers,  and  those  of  all  grades.    I  would  say,  then, 
that  the  most  important  of  all  departments  of  educa- 
tion on  the  mission  field  is  that  of  schools  in  which 
men  shall  be  fitted  for  the  middle  grades  of  work. 
Call  them  colleges  or  training-schools,  or  by  what- 
ever name,  they  constitute  our  chief  hope  for  both 
the   present   and   the   future.      A   friend  who   had 
visited  India  said  to  me  that  of  all  the  higher  insti- 
tutions that  he  had  seen,  and  he  had  visited  many, 
one  belonging  to  the  Methodist  mission  at  Bareilly 
seemed  to  him  best  adapted  to  meet  the  widespread 
wants  of  a  mission  field.     The  curriculum  was  not 
so  extended  as  in  some  other  institutions,  but  it  was 
more    distinctively    a    school    for    the    training    of 
preachers  and  teachers.    General  education  was  sub- 
ordinate to  this,  so  far  as  he  could  discover.    Those 
who  were  selected  or  admitted  to  the  institution  were 
by  preference  young  men  who  gave  good  promise  of 
becoming  Christian  workers.    And  my  impression  is 
that  the  Doshisha  of  the  American  Board  in  Japan, 
established  and  for  some  years  directed  by  the  la- 
mented   Neesima,    attained    its    high    success    and 
proved  its  eminent  usefulness  just  in  proportion  to 
the  emphasis   which   it  put   upon   the   training  of 
preachers  and  teachers  for  the  direct  service  of  the 

lOI 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

mission.  Years  ago  the  sainted  Calhoun  established 
a  missionary  institution  at  Abeih  in  Syria.  The  cur- 
riculum was  fairly  extended  and  comprehensive,  but 
the  great  idea  which  prevailed  in  his  selection  of 
men  and  in  the  whole  course  of  study  was  that  of 
well-fitted  laborers  who  should  preach  the  Gospel — 
in  the  pulpit  or  in  the  school-room.  Probably  there 
has  never  been  an  institution  for  higher  education  in 
which  a  larger  per  cent,  of  graduates  were  found 
available  for  direct  and  valuable  Christian  service 
than  in  that  school  at  Abeih. 

It  undoubtedly  accords  with  the  general  wish  and 
purpose  of  those  who  contribute  of  their  means  for 
the  support  of  foreign  missions,  that  higher  edu- 
cational work  should  place  its  chief  emphasis  upon 
the  training  of  Christian  laborers  who  shall  preach 
and  teach  the  great  message  of  salvation.  This 
might  include  the  special  preparation  of  at  least  a 
few  who  shall  be  able  to  defend  the  truth  against 
the  most  learned  and  skilful  assailants  of  whom  there 
are  in  our  day  not  a  few  in  countries  like  India  and 
Japan. 

We  believe  there  is  also  a  place  for  a  class  of  in- 
stitutions having  a  somewhat  different  aim,  and 
which  are  real  handmaids  of  the  great  spiritual  work 
of  missions.  Robert  College  in  Constantinople,  the 
Syrian  Protestant  College  in  Beirut,  the  Free  Church 
Christian  Collegein  Madras,  the  Protestant  College  in 
Sao  Paulo,  Brazil,  are  all  of  this  class.  They  have 
all  done  and  are  doing  a  grand  work — ^grand  from 

I02 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

the  standpoint  of  Christian  civiHzation,  and  the  real 
advance  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom.  But  they  are 
supported  on  an  independent  basis.  They  have 
boards  of  direction  of  their  own.  They  are  sup- 
posed to  be  maintained  chiefly  if  not  ahogether  by 
the  large  gifts  of  those  who  wish  to  promote  the 
broader  purposes  which  they  have  in  view.  Their 
work  is  designed  to  include  some  classes  of  students 
whom  purely  missionary  institutions  with  a  more 
distinct  purpose  could  not  attract.  They  are  useful 
auxiliaries  in  the  one  great  conquest  of  the  truth, 
and  yet  by  their  separate  character  they  avoid  the 
necessity  of  absorbing  mission  funds  designed  by 
their  donors  for  more  directly  spiritual  work.  The 
relations  existing  between  the  work  of  evangeliza- 
tion and  that  of  the  college  and  the  university  in  the 
new  settlements  of  our  own  country  are  coming  into 
view  more  and  more  in  our  foreign  mission  fields. 
The  broad  and  symmetrical  advance  of  Christian  civ- 
ilization will  present  much  the  same  conditions  and 
proportions  in  all  lands.  Doubtless  there  as  here, 
more  or  less  of  division  and  specialization  will  be 
necessary. 


103 


THE  INFLUENCE  OF  MEDICAL  MISSIONS 

The  principle  which  underhes  the  work  of  medi- 
cal missions  is  very  old.  It  appears  prominently  in 
the  teachings  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  The  same 
who  gave  the  great  commission  to  preach  the  Gos- 
pel to  all  nations,  also  commissioned  his  disciples  to 
heal  the  bodies  of  men  as  well  as  their  souls.  ''And 
when  He  had  called  his  twelve  disciples  unto  Him, 
He  gave  them  commandment  and  power  to  cast  out 
evil  spirits,  and  to  heal  all  manner  of  sickness  and 
all  manner  of  disease."  And  the  reasons  which  led 
to  this  divine  command  have  force  in  all  ages  and  in 
all  nations  alike.  Bodily  healing  was  then  no  doubt 
important  as  a  means  to  an  end — namely,  that  of 
gaining  the  confidence  of  men  in  order  to  their  spir- 
itual salvation,  but  it  was  also  an  end  in  itself.  It 
manifested  the  kindness  of  God  toward  mankind 
both  in  their  physical  and  in  their  spiritual  condi- 
tions. It  was  necessary  in  that  age  that  the  moral 
effect  of  the  new  Gospel  should  be  enhanced  by 
miraculous  gifts  both  in  the  acquisition  of  language, 
and  in  power  to  heal  the  sick.  The  two  gifts  went 
hand  in  hand,  and  the  healing  power  was  doubtless 
the  more  effective  of  the  two  in  first  attracting  the 

104 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

attention  and  winning  the  confidence  of  the  people. 
The  masses  were  more  easily  and  quickly  influenced 
by  any  kind  of  miracle  than  by  the  most  eloquent 
spiritual  appeal.  Since  that  day  of  miraculous  gifts 
all  the  principles  involved  in  the  case  still  remain; 
bodily  healing  is  just  as  necessary  now  as  a  means 
of  overcoming  the  prejudice  and  winning  the  con- 
fidence of  men  as  it  was  in  Christ's  time. 

When  the  age  of  miracles  ceased,  it  became  neces- 
sary that  missionaries  should  learn  the  language  of 
the  people  by  the  ordinary  means  of  study;  and 
necessary  also  that  the  healing  art,  instead  of  being 
miraculously  conferred  should  be  acquired  in  the 
same  way.  If  the  acquisition  of  vernacular  languages 
is  a  part  of  the  duty  embraced  in  the  Great  Commis- 
sion, the  preparation  and  the  sending  forth  of  mis- 
sionary physicians  is  also  enjoined  by  the  spirit  of 
the  same  command.  The  divine  summons  to  "heal 
all  manner  of  sickness  and  all  manner  of  disease"  is 
the  only  warrant  that  is  needed  in  support  of  medical 
missions.  Professor  Macalister,  F.  R.  S.  of  Cam- 
bridge, England,  presented  this  important  truth 
with  great  force  at  the  Ecumenical  Missionary  Con- 
ference of  1888.  But  it  is  important  to  remember 
that  the  Scriptural  warrant  for  medical  missions 
presupposes  and  emphasizes  their  proper  relations  to 
spiritual  ends.  Neither  the  spiritual  nor  the  physi- 
cal healing  should  be  overlooked.  The  fact  is,  how- 
ever, that  for  centuries  the  Church  lost  sight  of  this 
symmetrical  and  true  relationship  between  preaching 

105 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

and  healing.  The  above  named  author  points  out 
that  the  post-apostoHc  church  fell  away  from  this 
high  ground  for  the  reason  that  the  conflicts  which 
arose  from  the  early  days  of  dogmatic  theology 
overshadowed  the  primitive  philanthropy  and  benev- 
olence which  was  so  largely  the  characteristic  of  the 
Church  in  the  earliest  apostolic  times.  No  doubt 
also,  the  increasing  tendency  to  ecclesiastical  ambi- 
tion and  the  prevalence  of  controversy  over  questions 
of  hierarchical  pre-eminence,  the  strife  between  the 
Western  and  Eastern  churches,  and  above  all  the  ef- 
fort of  Rome  to  build  up  a  temporal  power  after  the 
model  of  the  Roman  imperialism — all  these  had 
much  to  do  in  modifying  the  supreme  aims  of  the 
Church  as  they  had  been  taught  by  Christ  and  His 
Apostles.  Another  perversive  influence  was  the 
gradual  introduction  of  asceticism,  reinforced  per- 
haps by  the  example  of  faiths  and  customs  which 
prevailed  throughout  the  East.  The  tendency  spring- 
ing from  this  source  led  to  a  disregard  of  the  body, 
and  a  virtual  dishonor  upon  that  which  Christ  and 
His  disciples  had  honored  in  its  place,  and  so  far 
tended  to  make  the  spirit  of  the  church  less  humane. 
But  evidently  Christ  Himself  gave  no  encourage- 
ment to  an  ascetic  disregard  of  the  body,  and  the 
missionary  who  should  see  only  one  side  of  his  work, 
and  disregard  the  purely  human  needs  and  distresses 
of  mankind,  would  do  injustice  to  the  spirit  of  his 
divine  Master.  It  is  equally  plain  that  the  teachings 
of  Christ  also  forbid  the  opposite  extreme  of  regard- 

io6 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

ing  bodily  healing  as  the  only  or  even  the  chief  ob- 
ject of  missionary  effort.  The  medical  practitioner 
among  the  heathen  entirely  fails  to  apprehend  his 
true  mission  if  he  is  not  also  intent  upon  healing  the 
souls  of  men.  This  principle  was  recognized  even 
before  Christ's  time.  Professor  Macalister  quotes 
from  an  old  Buddhist  writing  the  declaration  that 
"no  physician  is  worthy  of  waiting  on  the  sick  un- 
less he  has  five  qualifications  for  the  office.  First,  the 
skill  to  prescribe  the  proper  remedy;  second,  the 
judgment  to  order  the  proper  diet;  third,  the  motive 
must  be  life  and  not  greed;  fourth,  he  must  be  con- 
tent and  willing  to  do  the  most  repulsive  office  for 
the  sake  of  those  upon  whom  he  is  waiting;  and 
fifth,  he  must  be  both  able  and  willing  to  teach,  to 
incite  and  to  gladden  the  hearts  of  those  whom  he  is 
attending,  by  religious  discourse."  It  must  be  con- 
fessed that  any  medical  missionary  who  is  influenced 
simply  by  love  of  his  profession,  and  who,  as  some 
have  even  boldly  expressed  it,  regards  himself  as  a 
doctor  and  not  a  missionary,  falls  below  the  ideal 
of  even  Buddhism,  and  infinitely  below  the  high 
standard  raised  by  the  spirit  of  Christianity. 

It  is  reported  of  St.  Isidore,  a  great  religious 
teacher  of  the  fifth  century,  that  he  rebuked  this  mere 
professionalism  in  these  words :  "You  profess  as  a 
physician  to  be  a  man  of  science  who  heals  diseases; 
you  profess  to  heal  the  minor  diseases  on  the  part  of 
those  who  come  to  you;  and  yet  you  yourself  have 
not  power  to  bring  the  knowledge  of  the  remedies 

107 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

for  those  greater  maladies  that  afflict  you,  and  af- 
flict others;  you  yourself  are  failing  in  duty  to  them. 
If  you  would  be  a  proper  physician,  heal  thyself." 
Any  medical  missionary  who,  though  a  professing 
Christian,  fails  to  act  the  part  of  a  Christian  in  com- 
municating the  light  and  hope  which  he  is  supposed 
to  possess,  is  open  to  St.  Isidore's  just  rebuke. 

One  of  the  most  touching  confessions  which  I  have 
ever  read  in  my  missionary  correspondence  was  that 
of  a  young  doctor  who  was  asked  by  a  dying  woman 
to  tell  her  about  Jesus  Christ.  She  was  almost  wholly 
ignorant,  yet  very  anxious,  and  had  possibly  but  a 
few  minutes  to  live.  He  had  neglected  language 
study,  and  he  had  not  learned  to  deal  with  souls.  He 
was  a  good  doctor,  but  was  helpless  in  this  painful 
crisis  and  was  bowed  in  shame. 

It  is  very  essential  that  the  medical  missionary 
should  be  actuated  by  the  highest  and  most  disin- 
terested motives.  He  should  be  consciously  free 
from  ulterior  aims  of  personal  ambition.  Dr.  W.  J. 
Wanless  in  his  excellent  little  book  entitled  The 
Medical  Missions,  states  that  in  his  tour  among 
the  medical  colleges  in  the  United  States  he  ''found 
a  number  of  students  who  expressed  a  willingness 
to  enter  the  service  for  a  time  for  the  sake  of  the 
wide  professional  experience  likely  to  be  gained,  and 
who  manifested  an  equal  unwillingness  to  devote  a 
life  to  the  work.  Practically  this  was  their  position : 
Anticipating  difficulty  on  account  of  their  own  ina- 
bility to  secure  a  suitable  practice  at  home,  they 

io8 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

would  go  to  the  mission  field  at  heavy  expense  to  a 
mission  board,  labor  for  a  few  years  and,  having  ac- 
quired the  desired  professional  experience,  would  re- 
turn to  America,  and,  through  the  means  of  their 
practical  knovvledge  abroad,  make  for  themselves 
professional  fame  and  wealth  and  social  position. 
Suffice  it  to  say,  the  commendable  scrutiny  of  can- 
didates' credentials  on  the  part  of  the  missionary 
boards  prevents  mai^y  such  persons  from  reaching 
the  field  under  their  care.  The  medical  missionary," 
adds  Dr.  Wanless,  ''should  be  a  man  possessed  of  an 
earnest  desire  to  save  souls.  Professional  experience 
and  the  amelioration  of  suffering,  however  good  and 
praiseworthy  in  themselves,  are  not  all  that  a  true 
medical  missionary  seeks  to  accomplish.  To  secure 
merely  the  physical  good  of  a  patient  is  to  lose  the 
highest  joy  which  the  service  itself  affords,  and  to 
fail  in  spiritual  ministration  is  to  cut  the  nerve  which 
iitself  tingles  with  the  real  blessedness  of  the  service. 
To  be  able  to  open  blind  eyes,  to  straighten  crooked 
limbs,  and  to  save  human  life,  is  a  w^ork  which  for 
its  own  sake  brings  delightful  satisfaction;  but  to 
save  a  sin-sick  soul  and  to  point  multitudes  of  dis- 
eased sinners  to  the  Lamb  of  God  is  a  work  which 
secures  the  most  blessed  compensation,  the  most  last- 
ing joy." 

The  broad  and  comprehensive  influence  of  medi- 
cal practice  as  an  element  in  the  great  work  of  mis- 
sions in  non-Christian  lands  is  so  ramified  that  it 


109 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

can  be  shown  to  best  advantage  under   different 
heads. 

( I )  Its  value  in  opening  the  way  for  the  preach- 
ing of  the  Gospel  is  very  obvious,  and  has  often  been 
dwelt  upon.  He  who  unites  bodily  healing  with 
spiritual  instruction,  invitation  and  exhortation,  fol- 
lows in  the  very  footsteps  of  his  divine  Master. 
Jesus  not  only  healed  as  well  as  taught,  but,  with  the 
same  objects  in  view,  he  endued  his  apostles  with 
miraculous  power.  It  was  undoubtedly  the  wonder- 
ful and  mighty  works  of  beneficence  that  at  first 
drew  the  multitudes  within  reach  of  the  divine  mes- 
sage. None  can  read  the  Gospel  history  without  be- 
ing deeply  impressed  by  this  fact.  It  was  the  sick, 
the  blind,  the  lame  that  thronged  about  the  Master 
as  he  advanced  from  city  to  city,  or  sought  quiet  and 
rest  by  the  sea  of  Galilee.  The  higher  and  the  lower 
classes  alike,  were  drawn  by  the  tidings  of  his  won- 
derful healing  power.  Jairus  asking  relief  for  his 
sick  daughter,  and  the  centurion  for  his  palsied  serv- 
ant, the  lepers  calling  in  distress  from  afar,  the 
Syrophenician  woman  pleading  with  importunate 
faith  for  her  child,  and  blind  Bartimeus  seizing  his 
one  opportunity  as  the  Savior  passed  through 
Jericho,  all  these  were  moved  by  physical  distress 
and  the  desire,  first  of  all,  to  be  relieved  therefrom. 
In  one  instance  at  least,  the  very  roof  of  a  house  was 
opened  that  the  suffering  one  might  be  let  down  into 
the  presence  of  the  great  Physician. 

But  in  all  these  cases  physical  healing  opened 
no 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

the  way  for  the  influence  and  power  of  the 
truth.  And  so  in  the  work  of  modern  mis- 
sions the  potent  skill,  and  the  manifest  disin- 
terestedness of  the  missionary  doctor  must  neces- 
sarily win  confidence.  All  must  know  that  dealing 
with  disease,  and  often  with  loathsome  disease,  is 
no  pastime.  And  if  the  missionary  has  traveled 
half  the  circumference  of  the  globe,  with  no  prospect 
of  emolument,  but  only  to  bless  his  fellow-men  in 
body  and  soul,  then  it  must  be  a  wonderful  message 
that  he  has  to  deliver.  Goodness  and  truth  certainly 
go  together,  and  therefore  the  glad  tidings  must  be 
true.  Sometimes  the  confidence  exercised  by  the 
poor  ignorant  sufferers  in  the  skill  of  the  doctor,  is 
so  great,  that  it  is  a  sad  disappointment  to  learn  that 
his  power  is  anything  short  of  the  miraculous.  They 
cannot  understand  how  any  possible  cases  should  be 
incurable.  In  such  circumstances  the  popular  con- 
fidence must  be  regulated  and  limited  by  careful  in- 
struction. For  if  bodily  healing  cannot  be  assured, 
there  is  an  opportunity  at  least,  to  inculcate  a  true 
spiritual  trust  in  the  higher  power  of  the  Great  Phy- 
sician to  impart  that  relief  to  which  there  are  no  ex- 
ceptions, and  which  shall  yield  peace  and  joy  for- 
ever. Multitudes  of  cases  might  be  given  in  which 
the  waiting-room  of  the  hospital  was  the  first  place 
in  which  the  Gospel  gained  an  attentive  hearing. 

(2)  The  influence  of  medical  missions  in  open- 
ing the  way  for  Christian  influence  is  not  confined  to 
the  individual  patients.     In  many  cases  it  has  over- 

III 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

come  the  prejudice  and  hostility  of  rulers,  and  opened 
whole  provinces  to  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel.  The 
existence  of  the  United  Presbyterian  Mission  in  Jey- 
pore,  India,  is  due  to  the  fact  that  a  London  medical 
missionary,  while  on  his  way  to  the  foothills  of  the 
Himalayas  by  way  of  Jeypore,  was  the  means  of 
saving  the  life  of  the  Rajah's  wife  whose  native  doc- 
tor had  given  her  up.  Though  no  missionary  had 
ever  before  been  admitted  to  that  province,  this  phy- 
sician was  invited  to  remain,  and  with  the  express 
understanding  that  he  should  have  perfect  freedom 
to  preach  the  Gospel.  He  remained  there  fourteen 
years,  and  Jeypore  has  now  a  large  and  prosperous 
mission.  In  the  vale  of  Cashmere,  also,  all  effort  to 
secure  an  open  door  had  been  futile,  until  a  student 
of  the  Medical  Missionary  Society  of  Edinburgh 
gained  easy  access,  and  the  result  is  a  prosperous  mis- 
sion with  entire  freedom  to  preach  and  teach.  A  med- 
ical missionary  of  the  London  society  in  Travancore 
won  such  influence  in  a  single  year,  that  upon  his 
death  the  whole  community  were  ready  to  erect  a 
tomb  for  his  embalmed  body,  at  which  real  religious 
worship  should  be  offered  him. 

The  successful  effort  of  Dr.  H.  N.  Allen,  now 
United  States  Minister  to  Korea,  upon  his  first  en- 
trance into  the  country  as  a  missionary  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Board,  furnishes  still  another  example.  He 
had  just  arrived  when  a  serious  conflict  occurred  be- 
tween the  Chinese  and  the  Japanese  garrisons  sta- 
tioned at  Seoul.     After  a  bloody  night's  work  of 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

fighting  and  assassination,  Dr.  Allen  was  called  to 
attend  some  of  the  wounded  men  who  still  survived, 
and  among  them  }^Iin  V(jng  Ik,  a  relative  of  the 
King.  He  was  rapidly  sinking  through  loss 
of  blood,  whose  flow  the  native  doctors  were 
vainly  striving  to  arrest  by  filling  the  wounds 
with  wax.  These  the  foreign  doctor  cleansed 
and  closed  so  deftly  by  sewing  and  the  use 
of  adhesive  plasters,  anrl  the  whole  treatment 
was  so  successful,  that  the  bystanders  declared 
that  he  must  ha\e  come  down  from  heaven.  During 
the  next  three  days  of  disorder — a  "reign  of  terror" 
it  was  called — when  the  diplomatic  representatives 
of  foreign  lands  all  betook  themselves  to  the  port  of 
Chemul])o  for  safety,  the  missionary  doctor  alone  re- 
mained at  Seoul.  occu])ying  the  American  consulate 
over  which  he  disj)layed  his  country's  flag.  '*!  could 
not  leave  if  I  would."  he  wrote  tr)  the  mi->ion  house 
in  New  York,  "and  I  would  not  if  I  could."  Many 
wounded  men  were  under  his  care  and  could  not  be 
abandoned.  But  really  he  was  in  no  danger,  for  his 
surgical  skill  was  his  protection.  Every  day  es- 
corted by  a  royal  guard,  he  was  borne  to  the  palace 
on  i)rofessional  visits  and  the  consulate  was  guarded 
by  night.  A  medical  missionary  was  the  one  safe 
and  sacred  foreigner !  At  first  the  flag  had  protected 
hi3  vocation,  but  now  his  Christ-like  vocation  sup- 
ported the  flag.  When  order  was  restored,  a  govern- 
ment hospital  was  at  once  established  and  placed  un- 
der Dr.  Allen's  care,  r.nd  from  that  time  to  the  pres- 

113 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

ent,  the  hospital  has  been  under  the  direction  of  a 
missionary  of  the  Presbyterian  Board,  and  mission- 
ary physicians  of  both  sexes  have  been  employed  in 
the  royal  palace. 

No  less  striking  was  the  influence  gained  by  Dr. 
J.  H.  Cochran  an  honored  medical  missionary  of  the 
Presbyterian  Board  in  Persia.  He  had  been  called 
to  treat  the  famous  Nestorian  chief  Abdullah  in  his 
mountain  home,  and  by  his  professional  skill  and  his 
attractive  personality,  had  gained  a  large  place  in 
his  confidence  and  esteem.  The  time  came  when  this 
well-nigh  invincible  chief  appeared  before  Oroomiah 
with  a  hostile  army  and  the  defenceless  city  was 
filled  with  consternation.  Only  one  hope  appeared 
and  that  lay  in  the  influence  of  Dr.  Cochran.  Though 
with  some  misgivings  he  ventured  out  to  the  hostile 
camp,  and  was  enabled  to  gain  a  day's  respite  ere  the 
contemplated  attack  should  be  made;  and  before  the 
respite  was  over,  a  large  Persian  force  appeared  on 
the  scene,  Abdullah  retreated,  and  Oroomiah  was 
saved.  It  is  easy  to  imagine  the  gratitude  of  the  res- 
cued city,  and  the  more  favorable  attitude  of  all 
classes  toward  the  whole  work  of  the  mission. 

(3)  Even  on  the  liumanitarian  plane  alone  and 
aside  from  spiritual  considerations,  the  work  of  med- 
ical missions  is  one  of  the  most  clearly  warrantable 
of  all  the  great  charities.  The  poor  appeal  to  us 
strongly,  but  they  have  health  and  strength  and  are 
not  generally  in  extreme  distress.  The  oppressed  al  • 
ways  make  a  telling  appeal,  yet  they  are  not  in  acute 

114 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

bodily  suffering,  and  they  are  not  utterly  helpless. 
But  the  sick  are  deprived  of  every  earthly  resource; 
their  days  and  nights  are  passed  in  bodily  distress; 
they  are  in  peril  and  exposed  to  speedy  death.  Sick- 
ness aggravates  every  other  disability — ^poverty, 
blindness,  friendlessness,  or  the  gloom  of  the  prison. 
In  this  country  nothing  so  impresses  one  with  the 
blessings  of  our  Christian  civilization  as  the  grand 
and  munificent  provisions  of  a  well-equipped  and 
well-ordered  hospital.  In  our  large  cities  all  re- 
ligious sects,  Protestant,  Catholic,  or  Jewish,  vie  with 
each  other  in  providing  for  the  sick  of  all  classes 
and  without  respect  to  nationality  or  creed.  In  every 
state,  county  or  city,  public  provision  is  made  by  the 
authorities,  not  only  in  hospitals,  but  in  dispensaries. 
The  great  general  work  of  relief  is  subdivided  to 
meet  the  special  wants  of  different  classes  of  sick- 
ness or  infirmity — the  crippled,  the  incurable,  the  in- 
sane, the  blind  and  the  victims  of  contagious  diseases. 
Even  the  jails  and  prisons  have  their  hospitals,  since 
no  degree  of  guilt  or  unworthiness  can  lose  its  claim 
for  timely  help  in  sickness. 

How  is  the  heart  of  the  nation  stirred  with  sym- 
pathy for  our  sick  soldiers,  and  marines,  and  how  ex- 
tremely sensitive  is  the  public  mind  to  any  rumor  of 
neglect !  The  whole  populace  would  rise  up  and  vote 
as  one  man  for  any  amount  of  public  expenditure 
for  the  sick  in  our  army  hospitals.  In  addition  to 
that,  multitudes  are  ready  to  add  voluntary  offerings 
almost  to  repletion.     In  emergencies  there  may  be 

IIS 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

blundering  and  delay,  but  soon  the  evil  is  remedied 
and  the  nation's  heroes  are  made  to  feel  that  the  na- 
tional heart  beats  in  earnest  sympathy  for  them.  If 
possible  a  still  higher  illustration  of  what  Christian 
civilization  has  done  is  seen  in  the  overflowing  sym- 
pathy and  helpfulness  of  the  ''Red  Cross  Society." 
Human  brotherhood  asserts  its  high  claims  even  in 
the  smoke  and  din  of  battle,  and  without  distinction 
of  friend  or  foe  the  ensign  of  humanity  (the  bor- 
rowed ensign  of  Christianity)  moves  across  the  hos- 
tile lines  wherever  the  wounded  need  relief.  And  the 
temporary  hospital  over  which  it  waves — perhaps 
only  a  larger  army  tent — opens  its  doors  of  welcome 
to  all  who  suffer.  There  is  no  sublimer  enterprise 
than  that  of  the  ''Red  Cross  Society." 

Now  one  has  only  to  sum  up  all  these  blessed  agen- 
cies at  which  we  rejoice  in  this  Christian  country, 
and  then  to  imagine  their  contrast  with  the  desti- 
tution which  prevails  along  all  these  lines  in  heathen 
lands,  in  order  to  appreciate  the  value  of  medical 
missions  even  to  the  bodies  of  untold  millions  of  our 
fellowmen. 

The  humanitarian  relief  resulting  directly  and  in- 
directly from  medical  missions  has  many  ramifica- 
tions. The  precautionary  measures  which  are  being 
introduced  into  many  lands,  as  for  example,  vaccina- 
tion for  small-pox,  better  and  safer  treatment  of 
lepers,  wiser  sanitary  safeguards  against  the  bubonic 
plague,  means  of  preventing  the  spread  of  cholera,  or 
checking  its  first  stages  with  simple  specifics,  timely 

ii6 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

provision  for  the  isolation  of  contagious  diseases,  the 
use  of  disinfectants,  and  better  methods  of  caring  for 
the  sick,  new  ideas  of  the  importance  of  personal  and 
domestic  cleanliness  and  proper  drainage,  who  can 
trace,  or  adequately  measure,  these  manifold  and 
widely  extending  influences  which  are  now  permeat- 
ing the  ignorant  and  suffering  masses  of  the  heathen 
world  ?  The  use  of  anaesthetics  and  the  safeguards 
against  septic  blood-poisoning  will  soon  become  the 
heritage  of  all  nations. 

(4)  It  is  important  to  bear  in  mind  also  the  edu- 
cational work  of  medical  missions.  By  this  means 
the  good  accomplished  is  perpetuated  and  extended. 
If  it  is  much  to  afford  blessed  relief  to  the  hospital 
inmates  of  to-day,  it  is  much  more  to  provide  the 
means  of  blessing  untold  multitudes  besides,  by  the 
training  of  native  physicians  and  thus  gradually 
revolutionizing  the  medical  practice  of  whole  nations 
and  races.  Much  is  said  and  written  of  the  feasibil- 
ity of  evangelizing  the  heathen  w^orld  within  the  life 
of  this  generation.  On  this  subject  there  is  much 
room  for  doubt;  but  that  a  great  and  beneficent  re- 
form might  be  effected  in  the  medical  practice  of  the 
heathen  w^orld  in  that  time  there  is  great  reason  to 
believe.  The  wonder  is  that  so  noble  an  undertaking^- 
is  left  almost  wholly  to  the  missionary  societies,  and 
that,  in  addition  to  all  their  religious  and  educational 
work.  Why  are  there  not  hundreds  and  thousands 
of  wealthy  and  influential  people  who,  like  Lady  Duf- 
ferin,  are  ready  to  respond  to  this  world-wide  appeal 

117 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

of  millions  who  sicken  and  die  without  relief  ?  Why 
do  not  those  who  ridicule  the  spiritual  work  of  for- 
eign missions  at  least  appreciate  and  encourage  this 
humanitarian  work? 

When  the  world  shall  have  advanced  somewhat 
farther  along  the  line  of  ethical  and  altruistic  civil- 
ization, when  as  an  incidental  effect  of  an  increas- 
ingly Christ-like  spirit  the  nations  shall  have  been 
drawn  nearer  together  and  a  real  brotherhood  of 
mankind  shall  have  begun  to  be  realized,  then  even 
governments  will  no  longer  be  satisfied  with  caring 
for  their  own  sick  and  suffering,  but  will  devise  prac- 
tical relief  for  those  of  other  lands. 

(5)  Medical  missions  have  already  done  much 
to  rectify  the  social  wrongs  of  woman.  Even  when 
men  began  to  realize  some  of  the  benefits  of  foreign 
medical  science,  social  custom  still  excluded  women. 
Those  who  suffered  most  must  suffer  still.  But  the 
logic  of  facts  and  of  common  sense  was  uncompro- 
mising. Li  Hung  Chang  at  Tientsin  and  the  Korean 
king  at  Seoul,  could  not  withstand  the  conviction 
that  the  same  remedies  which  would  heal  the  com- 
mon maladies  of  the  one  sex  would  prove  equally 
effective  with  the  other ;  both  saw  demonstrations  in 
their  own  households.  In  India,  Korea,  Japan, 
China,  and  many  other  lands,  medical  science  and 
old  custom  locked  horns,  so  to  speak,  and  the  battle 
had  to  be  fought  out.  And  nowhere  is  the  final 
victory  any  longer  doubtful.  Wherever  there  is  a 
spark  of  love  for  mother,  or  wife,  or  sister,  or  daugh- 

118 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

ter^  relief  will  be  welcomed  at  all  cost.  Skilful  sur- 
gery has  gained  special  victories  for  both  sexes. 
When  literally  the  blind  are  made  to  see  and  the 
cripple  learns  to  walk,  the  battle  with  false  social 
theories  is  won. 

The  general  impression  upon  a  heathen  commu- 
nity becomes  still  stronger  when  the  foreign  lady 
physician  also  appears  on  the  scene  and  wins  success. 
No  brighter  angel  ever  appeared  in  the  zenana  or 
the  harem.  And  yet  this  ministering  spirit  is  of  the 
despised  and  degraded  sex.  Greater  still  is  the  vic- 
tory achieved  when  the  brighter  native  girls  are 
trained  to  be  physicians  and  are  placed  over  dis- 
pensaries or  are  sent  with  sympathy  and  healing  into 
the  thousands  of  homes  where  no  such  blessing  was 
ever  known  before.  It  is  from  just  this  point  of 
view  that  perhaps  the  very  widest  and  brightest  out- 
look for  woman's  influence  opens  before  us.  The  fol- 
lowing testimonies  quoted  by  the  Rev.  James  S.  Den- 
nis, D.  D.,  in  his  incomparable  chapter  on  medical 
missions  in  the  second  volume  of  his  great  work  en- 
titled Christian  Missions  and  Social  Progress,  are 
only  two  among  many  which  might  be  given  of  the 
great  advantages  to  be  derived  from  the  medical  edu- 
cation of  native  women.  The  first  is  from  Bishop 
Thoburn  of  Calcutta,  who  says,  ''I  have  myself  seen 
twenty  young  ladies,  all  daughters  of  village  con- 
verts, in  attendance  at  a  medical  college.  These  girls 
had  spent  their  childhood  in  extreme  poverty.  Their 
fathers  had  been  accustomed  to  earn  about  two  dol- 

119 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

lars  a  month,  and  to  occupy  a  very  low  social  posi- 
tion in  the  village  community.  But  one  of  the  girls 
on  graduation  stepped  at  once  into  a  position  worth 
twenty-five  dollars  a  month,  an  income  which  in  the 
eyes  of  the  simple  villagers,  no  doubt,  seemed 
princely.  A  new  career  has  thus  been  opened  to  the 
womanhood  of  India,  while  relief  from  pain  and 
sickness  in  a  hundred  forms  has  been  secured  for  all 
coming  generations  to  uncounted  millions  of  Indian 
women.  All  this  is  to-day,  under  God,  owing  to  mis- 
sionary ladies,  and  I  am  glad  to  be  able  to  testify  that 
more  young  women  are  offering  their  service  for 
medical  work  abroad  than  ever  before."  The  second, 
dated  May,  1887,  is  from  Sir  Chas.  U.  Aitchison, 
one  of  the  lieutenant-governors  of  the  Punjab,  who 
says,  "It  was  at  the  suggestion  of  the  missionaries 
that  I  have  this  year  introduced  a  system  of  govern- 
ment grants-in-aid  to  hospitals  and  dispensaries.  It 
is  to  the  example  set  by  missionary  ladies  in  mission 
hospitals,  and  in  house-to-house  visitation,  that  the 
present  widespread  demand  for  medical  aid  and  med- 
ical training  for  the  women  of  India  is  mainly  due." 
So  far  as  known  to  the  writer,  the  first  lady  ever 
sent  to  the  foreign  mission  field  as  a  medical  mis- 
sionary was  Miss  Clara  A.  Swaim,  M.  D.,  of  the 
American  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  North.  She 
was  sent  to  India  in  1869,  and  was  subsequently 
taken  under  the  patronage  of  a  distinguished  ma- 
harajah  and  supplied  with  all  necessary  means  for 
carrying  on  her  work ;  and  great  as  was  the  local  in- 

120 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

fluence  exerted  by  her,  a  far  wider  circle  of  results 
might  be  traced  to  her  example.  The  same  idea 
which  influenced  her  also  inspired  Dr.  Lucinda  L. 
Combs,  who  was  sent  to  China  in  1873  ^7  the  same 
Board.  The  rapid  expansion  of  the  movement  of 
sending  out  educated  women  as  medical  missionaries 
has  been  phenomenal  in  recent  years,  and  it  is  al- 
ready leading  to  a  general  desire  on  the  part  of  in- 
telligent rulers  and  administrators  to  train  up  scores 
and  even  hundreds  of  bright  native  women  as  phy- 
sicians for  the  relief  of  their  own  suffering  sex.  Un- 
der this  general  impulse,  must  undoubtedly  be  classed 
the  noble  work  of  the  Lady  Dufferin  Association  in 
India,  which  although  not  partaking  of  the  strictly 
religious  character  of  the  missionary  work,  is  ex- 
tending its  influence  for  good  on  a  large  scale.  This 
association  in  1898  reported  240  female  students  un- 
der its  charge  in  medical  schools  and  colleges  in  In- 
dia. Other  institutions  in  India  have  adopted  simi- 
lar courses  of  study. 

In  Japan  and  Korea  striking  progress  has  also 
been  made  through  the  influence  of  missionary  phy- 
sicians of  both  sexes.  It  has  stimulated  the  desire  on 
all  sides  for  a  better  knowledge  of  Western  methods. 
Medical  schools  and  a  number  of  hospitals  with  in- 
struction in  nursing,  are  now  established  under  Jap- 
anese auspices.  A  great  world-wide  movement  has 
been  inaugurated  for  the  medical  training  of  Oriental 
women.  It  reveals  the  possibility  of  woman's  benefi- 
cent power  and  influence,  as  they  have  never  been 

121 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

recognized  before.  In  its  far-reaching  effect  it  marks 
the  dawn  of  a  new  era  for  suffering  humanity.  The 
whole  sphere  of  women  is  enlarged,  elevated,  sancti- 
fied, and  the  darkest  problems  of  sociology  find  prac- 
tical solution.  If  no  other  result  but  this  had  been 
accomplished  by  missionary  efforts  it  would  have  re- 
paid all  the  cost  an  hundredfold. 

(6)  Medical  missions  accomplish  great  good  in 
releasing  mankind  from  the  bondage  of  heathen  su- 
perstition. In  all  pagan  nations  and  tribes,  disease 
and  demonism  are  looked  upon  as  virtually  identical; 
the  sick  are  tormented  by  imaginary  demons  and  the 
common  remedy  is  found  in  the  infliction  of  counter- 
torments  at  the  hands  of  their  friends.  "Like  cures 
like"  in  a  most  tragical  way.  The  juggler  is  called, 
and  orgies  are  commenced  which  would  impair  the 
health  of  the  most  robust.  The  aching  brain  is  racked 
with  new  distresses,  by  dancing  and  the  beating  of 
drums  to  drive  away  the  spirits;  the  burning  and  suf- 
focation of  fever  are  aggravated  by  the  stifling  presence 
of  a  noisy  crowd  of  friends  and  neighbors;  delirium 
is  redoubled  by  the  wild  and  shrieking  frenzy  of  the 
medicine  man.  If  the  demon  is  supposed  to  be 
lodged  in  a  particular  organ  the  patient  is  prodded  till 
the  sensitive  spot  is  found,  or  is  made  to  swallow  vile 
concoctions  which  no  demon  can  endure.  Absolute 
ignorance  would  be  preferable  to  all  this,  in  so  far  as 
it  should  attempt  no  remedies  whatever,  but  should 
leave  the  suffering  to  the  more  quiet  recuperative  en- 
ergies of  nature;  man  would  then  at  least  enjoy  the 

122 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

immunity  of  the  beast  and  would  live  or  die  in  peace. 
But  unfortunately  ignorance  is  supplanted  by  per- 
verted knowledge,  and  it  is  for  the  interest  of  the 
juggler  to  supply  a  merchantable  counterfeit  of  wis- 
dom. It  is  the  province  of  superstition  to  caricature 
every  divine  gift  to  man.  It  caricatures  religion  and 
it  caricatures  science;  it  makes  a  mockery  of  com- 
mon sense  and  transforms  the  instincts  of  natural 
affection. 

In  many  dark  lands,  notably  among  the  pagan 
tribes  of  Africa,  a  terrible  aggravation  is  added  to  all 
the  above  named  evils,  wrought  by  the  superstitions 
of  spirit  worship.  The  sick  are  not  the  only  ones 
who  suffer.  A  sad  fate  befalls  those  who  are  sup- 
posed to  have  been  the  instruments  of  the  spirits  in 
bewitching  the  patient  and  causing  his  destruction. 
For  every  death  by  disease  some  innocent  victim  is 
condemned  to  die  for  having  been  the  cause  of  it. 
Of  course  the  influence  of  general  religious  instruc- 
tion by  the  missionary  will  go  far  in  overcoming  the 
false  allegations  of  the  witch  doctor,  and  breaking 
the  power  of  these  cruel  superstitions,  but  the  posi- 
tive demonstrations  of  an  actual  and  scientific  heal- 
ing of  disease  will  accomplish  still  more. 

We  are  not  of  that  enthusiastic  class  who  believe 
that  science  is  all-sufiicient  to  redeem  the  world, 
but  it  has  its  place,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
medical  science  especially  has  a  great  part  to  act  in 
the  battle  of  truth  with  superstition.  Even  in  its  most 
purely  secular  aspects  it  is  a  powerful  ally  of  the  Gos- 

123 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

pel.  From  the  very  fact  that  superstition  connects 
bodily  suffering  with  satanic  influence  and  unites 
perverted  healing  and  perverted  worship  by  one  com- 
mon bond,  the  two  must  stand  or  fall  together.  When 
the  fetish  and  the  incantation  shall  give  place  to  skill- 
ful surgery  and  scientific  medication,  the  Avhole  fab- 
ric of  false  religion  with  which  they  have  been  con- 
nected must  begin  to  crumble  and  the  way  must  so 
far  be  opened  for  the  truth.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  in  countries  like  India  or  China  the  more  intelli- 
gent classes  will  soon  recognize  this  change.  The 
wonder  has  been  that  in  the  march  of  social  and  po- 
litical progress,  superstition  has  been  about  the  last 
thing  to  be  given  up.  Those  who  have  evinced  great 
intellectual  power  in  other  directions  have  remained 
mere  children  in  this.  It  is  said  that  Prince  Li  Hung 
Chang,  even  after  he  had  become  world-renowned 
for  statesmanship,  was  known  to  appease  by  sacrifice 
a  wriggling  snake  that  had  encroached  upon  his 
apartments.  He  has  now  become  a  great  champion 
of  medical  missions  and  his  serpent  worship  must  go. 
(7)  The  influence  of  medical  missions  in  creating 
a  general  sympathy  for  the  suffering  and  distressed, 
and  in  overcoming  the  stiff  prejudices  and  antago- 
nisms of  men  holding  different  faiths  and  represent- 
ing different  ranks  in  society,  is  not  the  least  among 
its  many  blessings.  A  careful  study  of  the  history 
of  this  truly  altruistic  and  humane  movement  will 
demonstrate  its  power  in  promoting  sentiments  of 


124 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

pity  and  a  deeper  consciousness  of  the  brotherhood 
of  mankind. 

Undoubtedly  the  cruel  neglect  and  indifference 
shown  toward  the  sick  and  the  suffering  in  non- 
Christian  lands  is  the  result  of  despair.  Partly  in 
self-defense  men  become  callous  to  the  sufferings 
which  they  cannot  relieve.  This  is  shown  especially 
in  times  of  pestilence  or  great  general  disaster.  Even 
kinsmen,  nay  even  parents,  steel  their  hearts  against 
the  insane  or  the  idiotic,  the  crippled  or  the  diseased, 
for  whom  no  remedial  provision  seems  possible.  And 
so  by  degrees  the  ever  present  spectacle  of  unrelieved 
distress  hardens  the  hearts  of  whole  communities, 
and  the  tone  of  humane  sentiment  is  weakened  and 
civilization  itself  suffers  deterioration.  All  this  is 
gradually  changed  as  the  benign  influence  of  medical 
missions  begins  to  be  felt.  Some  humble  citizen  of 
an  interior  village  returns  home  from  the  hospital  at 
Canton  or  Shanghai  or  Peking.  His  neighbors  have 
thought  him  hopelessly  blind,  but  now  he  sees :  or  he 
had  been  rendered  helpless  by  a  malignant  tumor, 
but  now  he  walks  abroad  as  a  living  miracle.  What 
is  this  strange  influence  that  has  given  to  the  lives 
of  the  sick  and  suffering  this  new  value?  A  whole 
community  becomes  interested  in  the  striking  object 
lesson.  Others  still  suffering,  are  now  looked  upon 
with  new  hope  and  new  interest.  Sympathy  is 
awakened  by  the  belief  that  they  too  may  be 
healed  and  ought  to  be  healed.  In  the  past 
history  of  countries  like  China  the  rich  and  the 

125 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

poor  have  been  alike  hopeless  under  the  bur- 
dens of  supposedly  incurable  disease.  But  the  poor 
suffer  worst  of  all.  The  higher  classes  while  resort- 
ing to  desperate  means  for  the  recovery  of  their  sick 
have  no  time  and  no  heart  to  think  of  these.  Every- 
thing is  dark  at  the  best,  and  perhaps  a  pessimistic 
faith  or  lack  of  faith,  hardens  the  heart,  and  the  com- 
munity is  under  a  spell  of  stupor  and  despair.  But 
when  new  hope  arises  for  both  the  high  and  the  low, 
and  the  example  is  furnished  of  aiding  both  and  all 
alike  in  Christ's  name,  a  humane  sympathy  takes  the 
place  of  despair.  This  accounts  for  the  fact  that  in 
recent  years  w^here  the  suffering  poor  were  left  to 
perish,  men  of  the  higher  classes  are  interesting 
themselves  in  movements  of  general  relief;  officials 
and  men  of  wealth  are  contributing  for  the  support 
of  hospitals,  where  the  poor  also  may  be  healed.  The 
whole  trend  of  public  sentiment  is  elevated,  and  a 
new  value  is  put  upon  all  human  life. 

A  better  illustration  of  the  influence  of  medical 
missions  in  breaking  down  the  stiff  prejudices  and 
conflicting  customs  of  men,  and  uniting  them  by  a 
common  bond  of  sympathy,  could  scarcely  be  found 
than  the  following  graphic  description  given  by 
Rev.  George  E.  Post,  M.  D.,  of  the  Syrian  Protestant 
College,  in  the  Ecumenical  Missionary  Conference 
in  London  in  1888. 

The  scene  which  was  a  real  one  was  laid  in  the 
hospital  of  the  Knights  of  St.  John  in  Beirut,  under 
the  care  of  the  well  known  Kaiserwerth  deaconesses, 

126 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

and  of  which  Dr.  Post  is  the  chief  medical  attendant. 
The  occasion  is  a  Christmas  festival,  where  the  con- 
valescent patients  are  assembled  around  a  Christmas- 
tree.  With  vivid  descriptive  power  Dr.  Post  pre- 
sents the  heterogeneous  company  one  by  one. 

First,  a  small  boy  of  Jewish  parentage  whose  sore 
need  of  healing  has  overcome  his  parents'  prejudice 
against  this  Christian  institution,  and  the  boy  has 
been  healed.  Near  him  is  a  stalwart  old  Moslem, 
claiming  descent  from  the  great  Saladin.  This  man, 
a  month  before,  would  have  spat  upon  the  ''Christian 
dog"  of  a  doctor,  but  he  has  received  his  long  lost 
eye-sight,  and  his  fierce  intolerance  has  been  so  soft- 
ened that  when  he  comes  into  the  room  he  bows  low 
and  covers  the  doctor's  hand  with  grateful  kisses. 

A  little  beyond  is  a  young  Druse  woman  with  a 
babe  in  her  arms — arms  only,  for  they  are  without 
hands!  These  she  lost  by  a  frightful  accident,  and 
her  brutal  husband  finding  her  no  longer  able  to  work 
has  divorced  her  and  turned  her  into  the  street.  But 
mother  and  child  have  found  kindness  and  help  at 
the  Christian  hospital.  Near  at  hand  sits  another 
bigoted  Mohammedan  with  a  green  turban  to  indi- 
cate his  descent  from  Mohammed.  He  is  from  He- 
bron and  is  the  keeper  of  the  sacred  tomb  of  Machpe- 
lah,  and  has  had  charge  of  the  bones  of  Abraham, 
Isaac,  and  Jacob,  of  Sarah,  Rebecca,  and  Leah,  which 
no  Jew  or  Christian  is  allowed  to  approach.  But  the 
man  whom  this  bigoted  Mohammedan  would  have 
despised  but  a  little  time  before,  has  restored  his  eye- 

127 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

sight,  and  now  he  Ustens  to  the  Gospel.  A  Uttle  fur- 
ther on  is  an  Armenian  priest  with  his  pecuhar  cleri- 
cal hat  and  a  long  black  veil  trailing  down  his  back. 
This  too  is  a  great  condescension,  for  he  belongs  to  a 
church  which  claims  to  have  been  established  by 
Christ  Himself.  But  he  too  has  been  healed  and  is  a 
listener  to  the  pure  Gospel. 

Beyond  is  a  Bedouin  Arab  from  Palmyra.  He 
has  been  shot  in  a  blood  feud,  and  finding  no  ade- 
quate surgical  resources  in  the  desert  city,  he  has 
been  brought  in  a  critical  condition,  over  the  long 
rough  journey  to  Beirut,  and  he  is  very  sure  that  the 
healing  of  his  wound  v/as  a  miracle.  Near  him  is  a 
woman  on  a  cot  whose  husband  by  cruel  beating  has 
broken  the  bones  of  the  chest,  involving  danger  of 
septic  poisoning.     She  too  has  been  healed. 

These  are  only  specimens  of  an  ever  changing 
crowd  who  find  help  and  comfort  in  that  hospital. 
*'They  are  gathered,"  says  Dr.  Post,  "from  Jerusa- 
lem, from  Bagdad,  from  the  Great  Sahara,  from 
Turkestan,  from  the  head  waters  of  the  Euphrates 
and  the  Tigris,  from  the  villages  in  Lebanon,  from 
Palestine,  from  Cyprus,  from  Asia  Minor — they  are 
gathered  into  this  hospital,  and  there  they  receive 
the  gift  of  healing.  Now  here  they  are,  gathered 
about  this  Christmas-tree,  with  these  sweet  sisters, 
like  presiding  angels,  going  to  and  fro  amongst 
them,  and  there  are  the  presents  on  the  tree;  each 
one  has  a  garment  or  a  book,  and  the  children  some 
toys,  and  the  ginger  bread  and  the  candy  and  or- 

128 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

anges  are  not  forgotten.  Everything  is  ready.  Now 
here  is  a  little  choir  of  the  Deaconess'  Orphan  school, 
which  is  just  down  the  street.  They  come  up  every 
Sunday  to  our  service,  and  at  the  time  of  our  Christ- 
mas-tree they  come  to  sing."  Surely  this  is  applied 
Christianity  and  it  is  fast  becoming  known  and  read 
of  all  men. 

It  is  a  significant  fact  that  the  great  work  of  medi- 
cal missions  is  mainly  Protestant.  There  has  been 
no  organized  medical  system  pursued  by  Roman 
Catholic  missionaries  in  the  past,  nor  is  there  in  the 
present  anything  to  compare  with  the  attention  given 
to  the  subject  by  Protestants.  It  is  but  fair,  how- 
ever, to  recognize  the  fact  that  as  early  as  the  six- 
teenth and  seventeenth  centuries  there  were  faithful 
and  devout  Jesuit  missionaries  in  India,  China  and 
South  America,  who  with  very  imperfect  medical 
knowledge  earnestly  tried  to  relieve  human  misery, 
both  of  the  body  and  of  the  soul.  ''We  must  not  for- 
get," says  Professor  Macalister,  ''that  it  is  to  them 
largely  that  we  owe  the  use  of  cinchona,  which  has 
rendered  mission  work  possible  in  fever-stricken 
lands;  we  owe  to  them  also  ipecacuanha,  and  many 
other  remedies  which  we  probably  should  not  have 
known  so  soon,  had  it  not  been  for  the  labors  of 
these  men."  Mainly  also  this  movement  belongs  to 
this  generation  of  Protestants.  The  early  Danish 
missions  to  India  sent  out  some  medical  men  in 
1730-32.  The  Moravians  sent  two  physicians  to 
Persia  in  1747,  and  in  the  generation  immediately 

129 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

preceding  this,  a  limited  number  of  missionary  phy- 
sicians were  sent  to  Persia,  Syria,  Asia  Minor,  China, 
and  to  some  of  our  Indian  tribes.  But  it  is  in  the 
latter  half  of  this  century  that  the  movement  has  be- 
gun to  assume  world-wide  proportions.  As  a  single 
example,  of  the  medical  missionaries  under  the  Pres- 
byterian Board,  now  numbering  over  four  score,  all 
but  three  have  been  commissioned  during  the  last 
twenty-five  years. 

It  may  be  said  still  further  that  this  movement  is 
mainly  Anglo-Saxon.  Of  the  680  thoroughly  trained 
missionary  physicians  enumerated  by  Dr.  Dennis, 
660  are  American  or  British.  Only  twenty  represent 
the  various  societies  of  the  European  continent.  As 
compared  with  Great  Britain  and  her  colonies, 
America  takes  the  lead.  Of  all  missionary  organiza- 
tions, the  Presbyterian  Board  has  the  largest  number 
— eighty-three,  of  whom  thirty-three  are  women. 
Next  in  order  stands  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  North.  Of  women  now  engaged,  127  are 
American,  seventy-three  are  British,  and  nine  are 
Canadian.  Eight  hundred  and  eighty  well  trained 
physicians  with  their  hospitals  and  dispensaries  and 
medical  classes  scattered  through  all  dark  lands  and 
the  islands  of  the  sea,  would  seem  to  be  a  goodly 
host.  But  when  we  reflect  that  their  influence  is 
only  as  handfuls  of  corn  in  the  tops  of  the  moun- 
tains, whose  fruits  in  another  half  century  shall 
shake  like  Lebanon — then  only  do  we  begin  to 
realize  the  value  of  medical  missions. 

130 


THE  FAITH  ELEMENT  IN  MISSIONS 

The  whole  work  of  foreign  missions  is  in  a  pecu- 
har  sense,  a  work  of  faith.  So  far  as  its  supporters 
are  concerned  it  is  a  work  out  of  sight,  far  away  be- 
yond the  seas,  among  unknown  races — people  who 
do  not  welcome  our  effort  and  from  whom  we  expect 
no  return.  It  is  a  work  done  for  Christ  and  those 
for  whom  He  died,  and  it  is  the  best  possible  evi- 
dence of  a  belief  in  His  being,  character  and  work. 

It  is  by  faith  that  mission  boards  and  societies 
make  large  appropriations  at  the  beginning  of  their 
fiscal  years,  when  no  funds  are  in  the  treasury  and 
when  possibly  they  are  already  borrowing  the  means 
by  which  to  support  their  work.  Often  half  or  three- 
quarters  of  a  million  of  dollars  are  thus  appropri- 
ated with  all  the  implied  obligation  of  a  solemn 
pledge.  On  the  strength  of  these  pledges  hundreds 
of  men  and  women  risk  their  lives  in  the  venture  and 
sail  away  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  every  year.  This  is 
then  peculiarly  a  work  of  faith — faith  in  God  and  in 
His  Church.  It  is  not  sufficient  to  say  that  his  pro- 
cedure is  simply  an  observance  of  the  law  of  aver- 
ages, as  in  a  life  insurance  company,  for  while  that 
regards  merely  thenatural  averages  of  life  and  death, 

131 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

this  confidence  depends  upon  the  free  action  of 
human  wills,  on  the  degree  of  missionary  spirit 
which  may  exist  in  the  Church,  on  the  efforts  which 
may  be  made  by  pastors  and  teachers,  by  woman's 
societies  and  young  people's  associations,  and,  above 
all  and  through  all,  on  the  Spirit  of  God  moving 
upon  the  hearts  of  His  people. 

Over  and  above  all  human  elements  there  is  cer- 
tainly a  divine  element  in  the  case,  as  seen  in  favor- 
ing providences,  the  general  conditions  of  finance, 
great  spiritual  movements,  unlooked  for  responses  to 
missionary  efforts,  revivals  wrought  by  the  Spirit  of 
God  in  the  churches  at  home  and  on  the  mission 
fields.  But  with  this  divine  power  there  must  be 
also  an  assiduous  use  of  means.  This  certainly  is 
the  New  Testament  doctrine :  this  was  the  apostolic 
method. 

This  faith  element  in  missions  should  never  be 
forgotten.  It  needs  constantly  to  be  emphasized  and 
cultivated.  Instead  of  less  prayer  and  more  organ- 
ization, less  trust  in  God  and  greater  reliance  on 
skillful  management,  there  should  be  exercised  a 
feeling  of  almost  desperate  recourse  to  that  divine 
Spirit,  who  alone  can  quicken  the  dead  heart  of 
heathenism  to  life,  on  the  one  hand,  and  arouse,  on 
the  other,  a  careless,  easy-going  church  that  is  ever 
forgetting  its  duty.  One  of  the  most  melancholy 
facts  in  the  history  of  missions  is  the  decline  of  the 
Monthly  Concert.  This  would  seem  to  be  the  seat  of 
life,  the  very  nerve  centre  of  the  whole  vast  enter- 

132 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

prise;  alas  if  this  is  atrophied!  In  very  many  cases 
pastors  have  not  faithfully  tried  to  maintain  it.  But 
in  others  where  they  have  made  earnest  efforts,  they 
have  been  disheartened  by  unmistakable  proofs  that 
their  congregations  are  loath  to  pray  for  anybody  or 
anything  except  their  own  local  interests. 

Probably  by  one  not  interested  in  religious  sub- 
jects, but  judging  candidly  upon  the  weight  of  evi- 
dence, the  lack  of  prayer  in  connection  with  the  great 
work  of  missions  w^ould  be  regarded  as  the  very 
strongest  indication  of  a  want  of  real  conviction  on 
the  part  of  the  Church.  To  attempt  a  divine  enter- 
prise without  a  constant  resort  to  divine  help  seems 
scarcely  thinkable. 

Perhaps  it  is  this  general  apathy  and  the  aversion 
of  Christian  men  to  contribute  of  their  substance  for 
missionary  work  that  have  led  to  the  inauguration  of 
what  are  known  as  ''faith  missions."  The  meaning 
of  the  term,  as  it  is  generally  understood,  is  not  a 
work  which  expects  a  greater  divine  blessing  on  the 
use  of  means,  but  one  which  dispenses  with  certain 
means  which  are  ordinarily  employed  by  missionary 
boards  and  the  churches  which  support  them.  So 
far  as  appears  in  the  public  discussions,  "faith  mis- 
sions" are  those  in  which  stipulated  salaries  or  med- 
ical attendance  are  dispensed  with,  and  a  sole  re- 
liance is  placed  on  the  Lord.  Practically  the  mis- 
sionaries still  depend  for  support  on  the  voluntary 
gifts  of  God's  people,  but  the  asking  must  not  be  of 


133 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

the  people  but  of  God:  the  contribution  box  must 
give  place  to  prayer. 

It  is  fair  to  recognize  honest  differences  of  opinion 
on  a  subject  like  this  in  which  even  scriptural  au- 
thority is  variously  interpreted  by  those  who  are  at 
issue  on  the  subject.  And  I  recognize  the  ardent  de- 
votion of  many  who  differ  from  me.  I  honor  some 
of  these  noble  organizations  which,  while  promising 
partial  support,  have  depended  in  part  upon  the  faith 
principle  in  determining  the  amount.  I  believe  that 
a  great  spiritual  impulse  has  been  given  to  the  cause 
of  missions  by  those  who  hold  that  view.  But  oc- 
casionally some  event  occurs  which  arrests  public  at- 
tention and  provokes  discussion.  Such  an  event  was 
the  death  of  three  missionaries  in  west  Africa  a  few 
years  ago,  who  to  all  appearances  died  from  insuf- 
ficient support,  and  from  a  persistent  reliance  on 
faith  instead  of  medicine  in  extreme  sickness.  Nine 
missionaries  sent  out  in  connection  with  what  was 
known  as  the  "Kansas  Movement,"  were  landed  near 
Sierra  Leone.  None  can  doubt  the  purity  of  thei** 
motives  or  the  sincerity  of  their  devotion;  they  had 
doubtless  been  pained  by  the  criticisms  of  a  worldly 
church  upon  the  "luxuries  of  foreign  missionaries," 
and  they  resolved  to  cast  themselves  on  the  Lord,  and 
without  salary,  and  without  even  medical  care,  de- 
vote themselves  to  the  establishment  of  a  mission  in 
Western  Soudan. 

For  the  sequel  we  refer  the  reader  to  a  letter  writ- 
ten by  the  Governor  of  Sierra  Leone  to  the  British 

134 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

Minister  at  Washington,  who  transmitted  it  to  our 
Secretary  of  State,  together  with  a  report  from  the 
Colonial  surgeon  at  Freetown.  The  report  stated 
that  upon  their  arrival  they  began  to  live  in  native 
fashion,  eating  native  food,  cooking  and  washing  for 
themselves,  and  collecting  their  own  fuel  even  in  the 
rainy  season,  hoping  thus  to  gain  the  confidence  of 
the  natives.  On  the  9th  of  July  two  of  the  party 
died,  both  of  whom  had  been  such  staunch  believers 
in  faith  cure  that  they  had  taken  no  medicine.  Two 
days  later  a  third  died  of  exhaustion  from  neglected 
fever,  having  been  ill  about  nine  days.  As  the  fourth 
patient  in  the  list  refused  the  services  of  a  physician, 
the  latter  reported  to  the  Governor  that  the  mission- 
aries, by  the  course  pursued,  had  developed  a  malig- 
nant type  of  fever,  which  endangered  the  whole  com- 
munity. He  therefore  quarantined  the  house,  and 
advised  that  the  survivors  of  the  party  be  sent  back 
to  America.  Upon  this  the  patient  consented  to  be 
treated.  Nothing  could  possibly  produce  a  more  un- 
favorable impression  upon  a  community  of  foreign 
residents,  in  regard  to  the  whole  work  of  missions, 
than  an  event  of  this  kind. 

But  if  public  sentiment  throughout  Christendom 
condemns  those  misguided  young  missionaries,  what 
shall  be  said  of  that  self-excusing  sentiment  in  the 
churches,  which  is  supposed  to  call  for  such  sacrifice  ? 
So  long  as  there  are  thousands  of  money-getting 
Christians  who  are  ready  to  say  of  the  faith  mis- 
sionary, "There  is  the  man  that  I  believe  in;  he  is 

135 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

not  after  the  loaves  and  fishes;  he  is  not  going  abroad 
to  Hve  in  luxury,  etc" — so  long  will  sensitive  young 
men  be  found  who  would  rather  brave  danger,  and 
even  death  itself,  than  to  depend  on  a  grudging 
church.  The  principle  of  faith  missions  has  undoubt- 
edly been  reinforced  by  the  kindred  doctrines  of  faith 
healing.  This  was  natural,  since  if  the  New  Testa- 
ment miracles  of  healing  are  perpetuated  in  our  time, 
why  may  not  Christ  still  send  forth  disciples  without 
purse  or  scrip,  taking  no  thought  of  what  they  shall 
eat  or  what  they  shall  drink  or  wherewithal  they 
shall  be  clothed,  and  assured  that  if  they  have  faith 
as  a  grain  of  mustard  they  shall  remove  mountains. 
But  it  would  be  unsafe  to  reason  that  because  faith 
healing  has  realized  a  certain  per  cent,  of  recoveries 
in  chronic  ailments  which  largely  concerned  nervous 
conditions  and  mental  states,  therefore,  it  will  un- 
erringly overcome  the  African  fever  or  provide  food 
and  shelter  in  the  desert.* 

Not  to  trace  their  origin  farther  back,  faith  mis- 
sions became  prominently  known  forty  years  ago  in 
connection  with  the  orphanage  work  of  Rev.  George 
Miiller  of  Bristol.  The  success  of  the  orphanage  led 
to  the  enlarged  work  of  sending  missionaries  to 
heathen  lands.  It  must  be  conceded  that  the  life 
which  George  Miiller  led  at  Bristol  was  a  beautiful 

*  There  are  many  most  worthy  and  devout  persons  en- 
gaj?ed  in  various  lines  of  benevolent  work  in  this  country  who 
pi'efer  not  to  solicit  funds  for  themselves  or  others,  but  simply 
to  use  what  sympathizing  contributors  mav  choose  to  send 
them.  None  can  complain  of  this  so  long  as  they  do  not  in- 
volve their  beneficiaries  in  serious  risks, 

136 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

life  of  faith  and  devotion,  but  the  history  of  religion 
has  shown  again  and  again  that  such  a  life  may  be 
quite  consistent  with  honest  mistakes  in  principle. 
He  possessed  a  rare  personal  magnetism,  and  won 
many  friends  wherever  he  went  and  whithersoever 
his  circulars  and  reports  were  sent.  But  it  was  felt, 
from  the  first,  by  many  observers  of  his  work  that 
while  he  definitely  eschewed  all  appeals  for  money, 
yet  indirectly  the  publications  which  he  issued  were 
the  most  effective  of  all  appeals.  It  was  evident  also 
that  the  exceptional  and  unique  character  of  his 
methods  proved  an  element  of  success.  It  was  a  new 
way  and  was  striking.  It  implied  a  degree  of  con- 
demnation of  the  old  methods  and  thereby  gained 
the  support  of  some  who  were  tired  of  appeals.  But 
the  fallacy  which  attended  this  system  as  a  system, 
lay  in  the  implication  that  such  means  ought  to  be 
followed  by  all  the  great  missionary  organizations. 
Of  course,  were  all  to  adopt  the  same  methods,  the 
novelty  and  the  consequent  monopoly  of  special  gifts 
would  cease. 

The  question  therefore  really  resolves  itself  to 
this:  If  all  means  o:  raising  money  for  missionary 
purposes,  such  as  the  sending  of  circulars,  reports, 
and  other  information  were  set  aside  by  both  the  old 
societies  and  those  of  Mr.  Miiller  and  others,  and  all 
were  to  rely  simply  upon  prayer,  would  the  cause  of 
missions  be  more  likely  to  prosper?  If  not,  and  the 
use  of  some  kind  of  means  is  necessary,  then  the 
question  lies  between  organized  methods  and  those 

137 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

which  are  only  casual  and  sporadic.  Now  it  so  hap- 
pened by  way  of  divine  example  that  God's  own 
method  of  supporting  the  Levitical  priesthood  was 
thoroughly  organized  and  systematic.  It  was  pro- 
portionate, fixed,  and  compulsory.  No  more  faith 
was  required  of  the  priest  at  the  altar  than  of  the 
shepherd  among  his  flocks.  Hardly  any  other  man 
in  the  nation  was  quite  so  sure  of  a  regular  support 
as  he.  And  if  it  be  claimed  that  the  New  Testament 
shows  an  advanced  principle  and  a  better  method,  it 
must  be  remembered  that  Paul  also  thoroughly  sys- 
temized  the  duty  of  benevolent-giving,  and  so  far 
from  avoiding  all  resort  to  direct  appeal  lest  that 
should  mar  the  quality  of  his  faith,  he  emphasized  his 
appeals  for  contributions  and  even  resorted  to  the 
principle  of  emulation,  by  using  the  example  of  the 
Macedonian  church  to  stir  up  the  consciences  of  the 
supposably  wealthier  church  of  Corinth.  He  pro- 
posed no  tithes,  but  he  urged  the  higher  principle  of 
giving  according  to  every  man's  ability.  And  al- 
though he  chose  for  special  reasons  to  earn  his  own 
support  in  part  by  manual  labor,  yet  he  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  become  the  receiver  and  the  bearer  of  the  con- 
tributions made  for  others,  and  he  emphasized  the 
just  claim  of  the  laborer  for  his  hire. 

In  any  comparison  of  modern  missionary  methods 
with  those  of  apostolic  times,  account  should  be 
taken  of  some  important  differences  in  the  whole 
situation. 

(i)  Those  first  disciples  who  were  enjoined  to 

138 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

take  neither  purse  nor  scrip  were  under  a  special  dis- 
pensation, involving  if  need  be  miraculous  interven- 
tion. Miraculous  draughts  of  fishes  could  be  taken, 
and  even  five  thousand  people  could  be  fed  from  the 
most  scanty  provision.  With  the  specific  command 
specific  help  could  be  expected. 

(2)  Those  to  whom  the  apostles  were  sent  in 
distant  lands  were  possessed  of  greater  competency 
than  those  who  sent  them :  with  us  the  reverse  is  true. 
Paul  collected  funds  on  his  mission  fields  for  the 
poor  of  Jerusalem.  Now  in  all  our  mission  fields 
deep  poverty  is  the  rule  while  the  churches  of  Chris- 
tendom  are  rich. 

(3)  There  were  great  advantages  also  in  the  use 
of  a  common  language  which  had  become  a  medium 
throughout  the  east.  The  Septuagint  version  of  the 
Old  Testament  had  proved  an  effectual  forerunner. 
And  generally  a  synagogue  was  placed  at  the  dis- 
posal of  those  who  came  to  preach. 

(4)  In  nearly  every  place  visited  by  the  apostles 
a  few  friends  or  at  least  fellow-countrymen,  were 
ready  to  meet  them,  if  not  with  a  welcome,  at  least 
with  toleration.  In  the  first  place  Jews  had  preceded 
them  everywhere.  This  was  true  not  only  in  the 
great  marts  but  in  such  out-of-the-way  places  as 
Lystra  and  Berea. 

(5)  But  most  important  of  all  was  the  fact  that 
the  infant  church  had  been  scattered  from  Jerusalem 
in  all  directions  by  persecution,  and  while  feeling  yet 
that  glow  of  love  which  held  all  things  common. 

139 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

Never  since  that  time  has  hospitality  reached  so  high 
a  mark  as  then;  it  is  far  enough  from  it  now. 
Whoever  will  study  the  history  of  Paul's  experience 
in  this  matter  will  be  impressed  by  the  frequency  with 
which  he  acknowledg-es  the  ministries  of  friends. 

How  different  are  all  the  above  named  advantages 
from  those  conditions  which  confront  a  missionary 
of  our  day  in  such  fields  as  Africa  or  the  interior  of 
China  or  the  rural  districts  of  India.  Poverty  every- 
where; an  unknown  language  to  be  mastered;  ig- 
norance and  prejudice  instead  of  friendship.  If  rep- 
resentatives of  his  own  land  and  race  have  preceded 
the  missionary  they  are  generally  hostile  and  their  in- 
liuence  is  a  curse. 

Doubtless  in  mediaeval  missions  the  methods  con- 
formed somewhat  more  nearly  to  those  of  the  apos- 
tolic days.  It  was  a  necessity  of  that  age.  Then,  as 
in  Paul's  time,  the  Church  was  destitute  of  organized 
agencies  for  the  extended  and  distant  propagation  of 
the  faith.  Whether  the  missionary  monks  who  went 
over  England  and  the  Continent  from  lona  and  Ban- 
gor were  aided  by  their  brethren  who  remained  be- 
hind cannot  be  known,  but  it  is  doubtful.  But  every 
kind  of  means  was  resorted  to  by  mediaeval  mis- 
sionaries for  their  support,  as  exigencies  required. 
Patrick,  who  had  been  a  swineherd  in  Ireland  and 
could  live  narrowly  if  need  be,  threw  himself  with 
sublime  faith  upon  the  favor  of  the  heathen  chief  of 
Tara  in  the  very  midst  of  his  pagan  revelry,  after 
having  wrestled  with  God  in  prayer.    And  he  won 

140 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

favor  and  assistance.  Augustine  was  received  with 
favor  in  Kent  through  the  influence  of  the  Christian 
queen,  Bertha.  PauHnus,  through  similar  influence, 
gained  royal  favor  in  Northumbria.  Aidan  and  the 
monks  of  Landisfarne  were  greatly  aided  by  a  young 
prince  who  had  found  refuge  from  his  enemies  in 
the  monastery  of  lona.  Anschar  was  for  a  time  sup- 
ported in  Denmark  and  Sweden  by  a  French  sov- 
ereign, under  whose  auspices  he  had  been  commis- 
sioned. King  Olaf  of  Norway  had  been  made  a 
patron  of  missionaries  by  his  own  conversion  while 
lying  in  a  Christian  hospital  in  the  Scilly  Islands. 

But  in  our  age  such  sporadic  makeshifts  are  not 
necessary.  They  are  not  in  accordance  with  the 
manifest  trend  of  the  divine  Providence.  We 
should  not  fail  to  recognize  the  fact  that  God  has 
been  preparing  His  church  as  an  army  with  multi- 
plied appliances,  wdth  boundless  wealth,  with  in- 
creased intelligence,  with  ample  and  varied  means 
of  transmission,  with  scriptures  translated  into  many 
languages,  with  broad  openings  and  manifold  op- 
portunities, with  more  perfected  organizations  at 
home,  with  a  thousand  inducements  to  rally  the 
whole  rank  and  file  of  Christian  believers,  the  men 
and  the  women,  old  and  young,  for  a  widespread  ad- 
vance upon  the  domains  of  darkness.  These  provi- 
dences all  indicate  the  general  policy  upon  which  the 
Church  should  act  and  to  which  she  should  give  her 
united  and  untiring  effort. 

Where  the  exercise  of  faith,  in  this  particular  use 
141 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

of  the  word,  is  employed  mainly  in  one  specific  line, 
as  for  example,  where  the  object  in  view  is  almost 
exclusively  the  receipt  of  money,  there  is  danger  that 
a  doctrine  of  faith  may  be  developed  which  will  not 
endure  the  test  of  Scripture  or  sound  experience.  It 
becomes  a  sort  of  banking  operation  with  an  implied 
understanding  that  whatever  prayers  of  the  Church 
may  remain  unanswered,  this  or  that  petitioner's 
drafts  for  money  shall  not  be  dishonored.  I  once 
heard  a  discourse  delivered  by  a  gentleman  who  was 
engaged  in  a  mission  to  the  Jews.  It  was  mainly  a 
narrative  of  instances  in  which  the  speaker — who 
discarded  public  collections — had  asked  the  Lord  for 
definite  sums  of  money  needed  by  a  given  date,  and 
had  in  each  case  received  the  amount  named.  Some- 
times the  day  would  arrive  and  wear  on  toward  noon 
without  response.  In  one  or  two  instances  six 
o'clock,  P.  M.,  drew  near,  and  then  just  in  time  the 
amount  came — perhaps  from  an  unknown  source. 

Very  little  was  said  of  answers  to  prayer  for  the 
conversion  of  the  Jews.  The  work  did  not  appear  to 
have  been  very  successful  except  in  the  mere  matter 
of  raising  funds.  I  believe  that  this  good  brother 
was  a  very  sincere  and  earnest  man.  But  he  gave 
one  the  impression  that  he  had  so  concentrated  his 
thoughts  on  this  particular  manner  of  providing  mis- 
sion funds,  that  he  had  lost  sight  of  the  symmetry 
and  proportions  of  the  great  general  doctrine  of  faith 
and  of  prayer.  It  is  hard  to  believe  that  God  is  more 
strict  to  grant  explicit  requests  for  the  material  sup- 

142 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

port  of  missionaries  than  to  bestow  the  promised  in- 
fluence of  the  Spirit  in  that  great  work  of  regenera- 
tion, for  which  missionary  support  is  only  a  sub- 
sidiary human  instrumentahty.  It  is  also  incredible 
that  God  should  be  so  much  less  careful  to  heed  and 
answer  the  great  volume  of  prayer  ascending  from 
thousands  of  earnest  hearts  for  the  conversion  of 
men  than  to  keep  accurate  account  with  here  and 
there  an  individual  whose  prayers  specify  the  self- 
imposed  restriction  that  he  shall  use  no  other  means. 
It  looks  too  much  like  asking  for  blessings  on  one's 
own  terms  and  in  support  of  his  particular  theory, 
instead  of  relying  upon  God's  higher  and  broader 
wisdom.  It  must  be  that  God  estimates  His  own 
great  cause  of  Redemption  more  highly  than  these 
few  object  lessons  in  missionary  methods. 

While  that  special  exercise  of  faith  which  is  sup- 
posed to  dispense  with  the  use  of  means  is  generally 
confined  to  a  particular  object  or  measure,  the  object 
is  not  always  the  same.  In  the  instance  just  named 
it  was  the  procuring  of  the  means  of  support  without 
resort  to  solicitation.  But  the  Christian  and  Mis- 
sionary Alliance,  having  its  headquarters  in  New 
York,  places  its  emphasis  of  faith  on  the  healing  of 
disease,  while  in  the  raising  of  funds  it  employs 
means  abundantly.  As  a  natural  result  young  men 
and  women  are  applying  to  the  different  missionary 
boards,  with  the  understanding  that  they  will  rely 
wholly  upon  faith  for  the  healing  of  disease,  but 
— very  inconsistently — will  expect  to  receive  full  sal- 

143 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

ary  for  their  missionary  support,  together  with  all 
expense  in  visiting  health  resorts  or  in  health  seek- 
ing furloughs  in  this  country.  This  specialization  of 
particular  things  and  the  confusion  consequent  upon 
it  are  serious  matters.  They  create  perplexity  in  the 
minds  of  missionary  candidates  not  only,  but  also  of 
native  Christians  on  the  mission  fields.  These  nat- 
urally ask,  why  this  diversity  of  particular  things  in- 
stead of  testing  the  power  and  care  of  God  in  all 
things,  and  why  in  some  missions  do  we  find  medical 
missionaries  employed  in  the  special  work  of  healing 
disease,  while  at  the  same  station  perhaps  are  those 
who  are  under  vows  to  take  no  medicine  but  to  trust 
in  the  Lord  for  healing?  The  case  is  still  further 
complicated  where  one  acknowledges  the  general 
necessity  for  medical  ministration,  but  has  reached 
assurance  that  it  is  not  necessary  in  his  particular 
case.  His  more  explicit  faith  has  been  rewarded  by 
special  immunity  from  fatal  sickness  for  a  period  at 
least.  One  instance  is  given  of  a  medical  missionary 
who,  while  attending  to  the  diseases  of  others,  native 
and  foreign,  held  this  inconsistent  position  with  re- 
gard to  himself,  and  eschewed  all  medicine. 

There  should  be  great  freedom  of  personal  belief 
and  great  charity  for  those  who  differ  from  us,  but 
a  dangerous  responsibility  lies  in  the  inculcation  of  a 
belief  among  others  which  may  involve  them  in  fatal 
danger  and  lead  them  in  turn  to  disseminate  among 
still  others,  views  which  cannot  be  supported  either 
by  scriptural  authority,  or  by  the  experience  of  the 

144 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

Christian  church.  The  leading  missionary  organiza- 
tions in  this  country  and  throughout  Christendom 
shrink  from  the  responsibihty  of  sending  out  mis- 
sionaries upon  the  faith  cure  basis,  for  they  feel  that 
in  so  doing  they  would  become  parties  to  a  very 
hazardous  experiment,  and  be  exposed  to  public  rep- 
robation. It  seems  imperative  that  as  a  corrective 
of  the  rash  misguided  zeal  of  young  candidates  who 
have  imbibed  unscriptural  views  as  to  the  use  of 
means,  the  consensus  of  missionary  boards  and  so- 
cieties should  adopt  a  common  policy  susceptible  of 
universal  validity,  and  that  the  churches  of  every 
name  should  inculcate  views  adapted  to  every  exi- 
gency of  life  and  every  line  of  Christian  duty  at  home 
or  abroad. 

Incidentally  it  may  be  noticed  that  the  term  "faith 
healing"  is  now  commonly  applied  by  secular  jour- 
nals without  much  discrimination  to  healing  b}'' 
prayer  and  to  the  operations  of  so-called  ''Christian 
Science."  Within  a  few  weeks  the  writer  has  no- 
ticed several  paragraphs  in  which  under  the  caption 
of  faith  healing,  complaint  of  fanaticism  and  fraud 
has  been  made  against  the  Scientists. 

In  one  instance  where  a  life  had  been  sacrificed  the 
court  ordered  an  imprisonment  of  three  months;  in 
another  the  judge  expressed  the  embarrassment  he 
felt  springing  from  the  fact  that  this  mode  of  heal- 
ing was  from  a  legal  point  of  view  so  much  like 
that  which  enjoined  faith  in  prayer. 

It  is  significant  that  in  the  New  Testament  we  find 
MS 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

no  such  examples  of  stipulative  prayers.  Even  our 
Savior's  petition  that  the  cup  of  suffering  might  be 
removed  was  subordinated  to  His  Father's  will.  And 
Paul's  prayer  that  he  might  be  delivered  from  the 
thorn  in  his  flesh  was  not  specifically  granted,  though 
God  had  a  greater  blessing  in  store.  This  chief 
apostle  or  missionary,  whose  constant  prayers  for 
the  success  of  his  mission  work,  and  for  the  con- 
stancy and  growth  of  his  converts  are  mentioned  in 
nearly  every  epistle,  never  created  emergencies  and 
then  prayed  God  to  help  him  out  without  other  ef- 
fort. He  did  pray  specifically  for  the  rescue  of  his 
fellow-voyagers  from  shipwreck,  but  he  strenuously 
enjoined  upon  everyone  the  observance  of  the  proper 
means.  In  the  matter  of  health  he  advised  his  deli- 
cate young  friend  Timothy,  to  take  a  tonic,  and  he 
himself  for  a  part  of  the  time  at  least  was  attended 
by  the  "beloved  physician."  Everywhere  the  Scrip- 
tures teach  the  duty  of  prayer  in  all  things  great  and 
small,  but  prayer  without  the  use  of  means,  where 
means  can  he  employed,  is  a  new  doctrine. 

It  should  be  specially  noticed  that  whatever  means 
were  provided  for  the  support  of  the  apostolic  mis- 
sionaries, or  those  of  the  Middle  Ages,  they  were 
not  accompanied  by  wives.  The  worst  element  in 
these  rash  experiments  of  unsalaried  faith  mission- 
aries is  the  increased  hazard  that  must  come  to  a  wife 
and  children.  If  this  aggravates  the  difificulties  of 
"cheap  missionaries"  it  is  still  worse  with  "faith 
missionaries."    If  single  men  were  disposed  to  take 

146 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

such  risks  alone,  as  an  explorer  would  venture  into 
an  unknown  region,  the  case  would  be  somewhat  less 
serious — though  no  explorer  ever  proceeds  without 
a  thorough  outfit  of  supplies,  and  the  means  of  pre- 
serving health.  But  it  is  a  grave  question  whether 
any  man  has  a  right  to  expose  a  young  wife  to  the 
perils  of  such  a  situation,  subject  as  she  must  be  to 
the  incidents  of  married  life,  and  with  all  the  addi- 
tional burdens  and  trials  which  a  woman  must  en- 
counter. 

Many  years  ago,  while  visiting  missions  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  globe,  I  took  occasion  to  call 
upon  one  of  George  Miiller's  missionaries  who  was 
living  with  a  wife  and  small  child  in  a  locality  less 
than  five  degrees  from  the  equator,  and  close  upon 
the  shore  of  a  land-locked  sea  with  an  environment 
of  hills,  which  made  the  place  an  oven.  He  had  no 
fixed  salary,  but  was  partially  supported  on  the  faith 
principle.  His  abode  was  the  upper  part  of  a  ware- 
house, and  directly  under  a  tiled  roof,  the  hottest,  I 
believe,  that  architecture  has  yet  devised.  The  low- 
necked  and  short-sleeved  dresses  of  the  mother  and 
child  revealed  numerous  boils  and  scars  of  boils,  of 
which,  the  missionary  told  me,  they  had  had  ninety. 
To  the  intense  heat  there  was  evidently  added  a  se- 
rious want  of  nutrition,  and  a  consequent  poverty  of 
blood.  The  missionary  informed  me  that  his  support 
was  irregular  and  insufficient,  and  that  but  for  his 
personal  appeals  to  friends  at  home  it  was  difficult  to 
see  how  they  could  have  survived.    I  have  no  com- 

147 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

ments  to  make  on  the  case,  but  these  are  the  facts. 
1  think  it  right  to  pubHsh  them  for  the  benefit  of 
those  well-to-do  Christians  who  criticize  organized 
and  established  methods  which  guarantee  a  regular 
support  and  favor  those  less  expensive  missions 
which  depend  more  upon  faith  in  God  and  less  upon 
their  personal  contributions.* 

But  is  it  quite  safe  either  as  theology  or  as  fact,  to 
assume  that  God  intends  a  different  measure  of  faith 
and  a  less  regard  to  means  on  the  foreign  fields  than 
in  the  work  at  home?  Is  there  any  more  reason  to 
suppose  that  a  fortuitous  support  can  be  relied  upon 
for  missionaries  than  for  our  own  pastors?  The 
whole  theory  of  "faith  missions"  proves  too  much; 
for,  unless  it  be  assumed  that  God  has  two  different 
economies  for  the  work  of  the  Church,  then  every 

*In  the  New  York  Independent  of  June  22,  1899,  appears 
the  following  editorial  statement: 

•'  For  some  time  reports  have  been  coming  to  this  oflSce 
of  suffering  on  the  part  of  missionaries  sent  out  by  the  Chris- 
tian and  Missionary  Alliance,  They  have  come  from  widely 
separate  countries  and  from  people  in  whose  judgment  and 
fairr  es<  we  have  every  confidence.  One  told  the  story  of  a 
young  man  of  fine  character  and  earnest  devotion,  left  with- 
out support  in  a  country  where  it  was  impossible  for  him  to 
secure  assistance,  and  who  sickened,  became  insane,  and  took 
his  own  life.  Another  told  of  not  merely  one,  but  several  who 
had  been  left  similarly  deserted,  had  suffered  greatly  with 
sickness  in  consequence,  and  life  had  been  saved  only  by  the 
relief  furnished  by  missionaries  of  other  boards.  Similar  let- 
ters have  been  received  by  others.  All  have  been  accompanied 
with  an  urgent  request  for  investigation  of  the  management 
of  the  Society,  and  the  exposure  of  the  methods  which  had  re- 
sulted in  such  cruelties, 

"Every  effort,  however,  was  rendered  difficult  by  the  pe- 
culiar character  of  the  Society,  It  makes  no  pledge  ot  support 
for  its  missionaries,  simply  promises  to  distribute  among  them 
whatever  funds  are  committed  to  it." 

148 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

department  and  every  interest  ought  to  be  conducted 
upon  trust,  and  all  salaries,  all  pledges,  all  contracts, 
should  be  dispensed  with.  The  intervention  of  broad 
oceans  does  not  change  the  general  laws  of  Christian 
service  nor  invalidate  anywhere  the  divinely  author- 
ized principles  that  "the  laborer  is  worthy  of  his 
hire."  A  guaranteed  support  is  even  more  indispen- 
sable on  the  foreign  field  than  at  home.  If  one  is  to 
carry  economy  to  the  verge  of  starvation  anywhere  in 
Christ's  service,  a  savage  community  in  a  malarious 
country  is  the  very  last  place  for  the  experiment.  If 
the  ministry  cannot  be  self-supported  in  this  country, 
where  they  are  surrounded  by  friends  and  abundant 
resources  of  every  kind  and  a  great  variety  of  occu- 
pations which  open  before  them,  how  much  less  in  an 
African  community,  where  labor  of  every  kind  can 
be  secured  for  a  pittance,  where  few  comforts  of  life 
can  be  found  at  the  best,  where  no  business  enter- 
prise presents  itself  as  a  possibility,  and  where  any 
missionary,  undertaking  to  live  as  the  natives  live, 
must  be  almost  certain  of  sickness  and  death.  The 
world  cannot  be  converted  by  a  few  startling  lessons 
of  toil  and  suffering.  We  are  not  encamped  before 
Philistines  whom  it  is  God's  purpose  to  conquer  by 
the  valor  of  a  few  young  Davids,  while  the  hosts  of 
Israel  simply  rest  upon  their  arms.  It  is  wrong  to 
remove  the  burden  of  responsibility  from  the  Church. 
Not  only  do  the  missionaries  need  fixed  and  reliable 
salaries  to  free  them  from  anxiety  and  insure  their 
success,  but  the  Church  itself  needs  to  pay  those  sala- 

149 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

ries.  Its  own  spiritual  life  demands  at  least  that 
small  share  of  the  common  burden,  and  any  theory 
which  maintains  that  a  fixed  support  is  not  neces- 
sary for  foreign  missionaries,  and  which  so  far  re- 
moves responsibility  from  those  who  remain  at  home 
is  an  injury  to  the  piety  of  the  Church. 

It  is  probable  that  the  conditions  regulating  the 
work  of  foreign  missions  will  become  more  and 
more  like  those  which  obtain  in  our  own  land.  It  is 
not  so  widely  differentiated  from  other  spheres  of 
Christian  work  as  it  was  fifty  years  ago.  The  fields 
are  practically  not  so  far  off.  The  degree  of  self-de- 
nial required  is  not  so  great.  The  ocean  voyages  are 
pleasure  trips  compared  with  the  old  six  months*  ex- 
periences on  board  of  merchant  vessels.  Mission- 
aries are  generally  supplied  with  comfortable  homes, 
and  medical  attendance,  as  a  matter  of  economy. 
The  romance  of  tragic  experiences  is  more  rare,  and 
missionaries  are  coming  to  be  thought  of  as  are  other 
men.  Yet  if  they  are  faithful,  their  work  is  hard; 
their  surroundings  are  often  forbidding;  the  isolation 
from  home  and  friends  and  fatherland  is  depressing 
and  the  climate  is  generally  trying.  At  best,  the  life 
of  the  missionary  is  one  of  self-denial. 

But  it  is  important  to  view  this  subject  dispassion- 
ately and  without  prejudice.  I  have  no  sympathy 
with  those  who  deal  in  sweeping  denunciations  of  all 
methods  which  differ  from  their  own.  I  cannot  but 
rejoice  in  the  variety  of  operations  which  God  has 
seemed  to  crown  with  his  blessing.    The  China  In- 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

land  Mission,  for  example,  has  accomplished  incal- 
culable good.  Some  of  its  early  peculiarities  have 
become  somewhat  modified:  what  some  people  re- 
garded as  its  extreme  ideas  have  been  laid  aside: 
there  is  more  and  more  a  recognition  of  the  fact  that 
means  must  be  used  in  the  raising  of  funds,  and 
means  are  used,  differing  from  those  of  the  older 
boards,  but  nevertheless  used  assiduously,  through 
reports,  missionary  addresses  and  lectures.  The  al- 
lowances for  support  are  much  more  adequate  than 
formerly  and  are  not  found  to  differ  very  widely 
from  those  of  the  older  organizations.  Methods  of 
work  on  the  field  are  undergoing  changes  and  more 
of  the  institutional  plan  appears :  general  itineration 
is  combined  with  stable  missionary  establishments 
such  as  schools,  churches  and  missionary  homes: 
everything  looks  toward  permanence.  Meanwhile, 
the  good  example  of  the  China  Inland  Mission  has 
led  to  improvements  in  the  work  of  the  denomina- 
tional boards.  The  earnest  spirit  which  has  charac- 
terized not  only  its  administrators  but  its  mission- 
aries, the  fact  which  it  has  demonstrated,  that  the  men 
of  the  highest  rank  and  most  manly  bearing  in  the 
English  universities,  can  be  drawn  into  the  personal 
service  of  winning  souls  on  heathen  soil — all  this  has 
inured  to  the  benefit  of  all  missionary  organizations. 
It  has  furnished  to  all  missionary  societies  the  good 
example  of  an  increased  reliance  upon  prayer.  The 
China  Inland  Mission  has  chosen  a  very  wise  pol- 
icy in  the  personal  examination  and  training  of  its 

151 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

missionaries  before  they  sail  and  afterwards  on 
reaching  the  field.  Their  training  institution  in 
Shanghai  is  a  model :  their  delay  in  the  marriage  of 
missionaries  until  they  have  learned  something  of 
the  language  and  made  a  beginning  of  missionary 
work,  is  wise  and  salutary.  It  is  the  greater  propor- 
tionate number  of  unmarried  missionaries  and  of 
those  who  depend  upon  their  own  support  which 
to  a  certain  extent  renders  the  average  cost  consid- 
erably less  than  that  of  other  societies. 

In  conclusion  I  am  persuaded  that  the  whole  sub- 
ject of  missionary  methods  demands  at  this  time  a 
fair,  courteous  and  thorough  discussion.  Among 
the  young  especially  there  is  a  deep  interest  in  the 
subject,  and  it  is  essential  that  sound  and  Scriptural 
views  should  be  adopted,  applicable  alike  to  the  for- 
eign field  and  to  all  forms  of  Christian  work  at  home. 
While  it  is  well  that  there  should  be  such  variety  of 
orofanization  and  method  as  shall  meet  all  views  and 
utilize  all  resources,  one  thing  seems  certain:  if  the 
world  is  to  be  evangelized  the  burden  of  duty  must 
rest  upon  all — upon  those  who  go  and  those  who 
stay.  The  support  of  the  former  must  devolve  upon 
the  latter,  and  it  is  the  only  way  in  which  they  can 
bear  a  substantial  part.  If  the  missionary's  salary 
is  a  needless  or  questionable  device,  then  the  great 
majority  of  Christian  people  are  exempt  from  any 
duty  in  the  case,  for  it  is  impossible  that  all  shall  go, 
and  the  question,  "How  shall  they  preach  except 
they  be  sent?"  is  without  meaning. 

152 


FAITH  IN  ONE'S  STAR  AND  FAITH  IN  GOD 

The  heroes  of  foreign  missions  have  been  pre- 
eminently men  of  prayer.  The  example  of  the  great 
Apostle  to  the  Gentiles  is  significant  on  this  point.  No 
one  can  have  carefully  read  his  letters  to  the  mission 
churches  of  Western  Asia  and  Southeastern  Europe, 
without  having  been  impressed  by  the  frequency  and 
earnestness  of  his  references  to  prayer  as  an  element 
in  his  missionary  \vork.  And  his  petitions  seemed 
always  to  have  been  accompanied  with  thanksgiving, 
whether  for  his  success  in  winning  men,  or  for  the 
grace  of  God  manifested  in  the  churches.  ''God  is 
my  witness,"  he  wrote  to  the  Christians  at  Rome, 
''that  without  ceasing  I  make  mention  of  you  always 
in  my  prayers."  To  the  Corinthians  he  said,  "I 
thank  my  God  always  on  your  behalf  for  the  grace  of 
God  which  is  given  you  by  Jesus  Christ."  His  faith- 
ful and  searching  letter  to  the  Galatians  was  intro- 
duced by  a  tender  benediction  of  "grace  and  peace." 
For  the  Ephesians  he  "ceased  not  to  give  thanks," 
making  mention  of  them  in  his  prayers;  and  he  as- 
sured  the    Colossians   that   with   thanksgiving   he 

153 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

prayed  for  them  ''always."  Much  the  same  expres- 
sions introduce  his  letter  to  the  Thessalonians ; — re- 
membering ''without  ceasing"  their  "work  of  faith, 
and  labor  of  love,  and  patience  of  hope."  He  tells 
young  Timothy  that  "without  ceasing"  he  remem- 
bers him  in  his  "prayers  night  and  day." 

Well  might  this  first  great  missionary  begin  and 
end  all  his  w^ork  with  prayer  and  thanksgiving,  for 
with  fasting  and  supplication  of  the  church  at  An- 
tioch,  had  he  been  sent  forth  by  the  direction  of  the 
Holy  Ghost. 

There  are  and  always  have  been,  emergencies  in 
the  prosecution  of  missionary  work,  which  called 
for  real  heroism,  and  an  all-supporting  faith.  The 
hostility  which  Jonah  feared  when  sent  to  preach  to 
the  Ninevites,  has  confronted  many  a  missionary 
when  venturing  among  barbarous  nations.  In  cases 
of  extreme  peril,  as  when  Paul  and  Silas  were 
thrown  into  prison  in  Philippi,  and  in  a  great  variety 
of  desperate  circumstances  and  conditions,  human 
help  has  sometimes  seemed  to  fail.  Often  a  sole  re- 
liance has  been  placed  upon  the  special  interposition 
of  God.  The  late  Bishop  of  Ossory  in  his  sketch  of 
the  heroic  mission  of  Patrick  in  Ireland,  has  pub- 
lished the  very  remarkable  prayer  which  that  mis- 
sionary offered  when  about  to  make  his  bold  en- 
trance into  the  court  of  the  chief  of  Tara.  It  was  at 
the  time  of  a  heathen  festival,  when  danger  would 
seem  to  be  at  its  greatest;  and  no  more  fervent  prayer 


154 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

than  his  has  ever  been  recorded,  and  none  have  been 
more  remarkably  answered. 

Judson  in  the  Burmese  prison,  John  G.  Paton,  sur- 
rounded by  the  howHng  savages  of  Tanna,  Mrs, 
Spalding  at  Lapwai,  committing  herself  to  God, 
while  expecting  at  any  moment  the  war  whoop  of 
hostile  Cayuse  Indians,  Mr.  Duncan  when  threatened 
by  the  savages  of  Metlakatla — these  and  many  oth- 
ers have  illustrated  the  need  and  the  power  of  prayer 
when  human  resources,  though  faithfully  used,  have 
seemed  to  fail. 

But  the  age  in  which  we  live  is  full  of  scepticism 
on  this  subject.  In  the  ordinary  business  of  life,  men 
love  to  trust  in  every  sort  of  refuge  or  resource  in- 
stead of  prayer.  They  trust  in  their  destiny,  or  their 
horoscope,  or  their  friends,  or  more  commonly  their 
own  ability  and  skill.  But  in  the  work  of  missions 
all  use  of  means  must  be  supplemented  by  a  trust  in 
the  transcendent  power  of  God.  It  lies  in  the  very 
nature  and  first  conception  of  the  work,  that  it  is  a 
conquest  more  divine  than  human,  and  that,  there- 
fore, supernatural  forces  are  indispensable.  Its  com- 
mander and  helper  is  a  divine  Redeemer.  Foreign 
missionary  enterprise  without  prayer,  therefore, 
would  be  an  anomaly,  and  a  virtual  contradiction  of 
principles.  And  here  is  the  point  of  departure  which 
separates  it  from  all  merely  human  undertakings, 
even  the  most  "heroic  and  successful.  In  these  we 
often  find  much  to  admire.  We  recognize  many  he- 
roes and  philanthropists  of  modern  times,  who  laid 

155 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

no  claim  to  a  religious  character,  but  whom  all  men 
will  honor.  But  perhaps  the  figure  which  touches  the 
heart  of  humanity  most  deeply  of  all  is  that  of  Liv- 
ingstone, after  many  years  of  toil  and  hardship,  dying 
alone  on  his  knees  in  prayer — prayer  that  the  Chris- 
tian nations  might  come  to  the  rescue  of  Africa,  and 
that  ''the  great  open  sore"  of  its  age-long  agony 
from  the  slave-trade  might  be  healed.  And  it  is  not 
difficult  for  us  now  to  believe  that  that  prayer  was 
heard  in  heaven,  when  already  we  see  all  East  Africa 
brought  under  the  power  of  Great  Britain  and  Ger- 
many with  a  railroad  line  proposed  from  the  Nile 
Delta  to  the  southern  Cape. 

Many  months  ago  it  fell  to  my  lot  to  hear  a  dis- 
course delivered  by  Mr.  Felix  Adler  of  which  the 
heroic  Dr.  Nansen  afforded  the  text,  or  at  least  the 
leading  thought  and  purpose.  The  splendid  heroism 
of  the  explorer,  his  calmness,  endurance,  self-control 
and  sympathetic  companionship  with  all  grades  of 
the  crew  were  depicted  in  glowing  terms.  The  sig- 
nificant fact  emphasized  throughout  was,  that  this 
balanced,  splendid,  character  was  that  of  an  agnostic. 
A  large  congregation  was  thus  called  to  notice  what 
agnosticism  can  do  in  this  last  decade  of  the  nine- 
teenth century.  Special  attention  was  directed  to  the 
admirable  discipline  of  the  little  crew  of  thirteen  per- 
sons, and  to  Nansen's  magnanimity  in  treating  every 
fellow-voyager  as  a  companion,  and  to  the  inculcated 
idea  that  every  man  should  be  a  sharer  in  the  toil, 
however  humble,  that  seemed  necessary  to  success. 

156 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

Here  Dr.  Adler  found  a  great  triumph  of  character 
and  a  grand  solution  of  a  difficult  social  problem. 
By  candid  readers  of  the  narrative  all  this  will  be 
conceded,  and  yet  with  the  exception  of  a  sort  of 
observance  of  the  Christmas  festival,  there  is  nothing 
in  the  narrative  that  even  hints  at  the  Christian  faith. 
There  was  neither  Bible  nor  Christian  Sabbath.  In 
all  the  reported  conversations  concerning  the  tender 
memories  of  the  Fatherland,  there  is  nothing  to  re- 
mind one  that  Norway  is  a  Christian  country.  Amid 
all  the  terrible  sufferings  and  struggles  and  dangers 
there  is  no  suggestion  of  a  prayer,  or  any  trace  of 
the  idea  of  God  as  a  refuge. 

Felix  Adler  made  good  use  of  all  this,  and  he 
probably  could  not  have  found  a  better  subject  for 
his  purpose,  or  drawn  a  better  illustration  of  what 
it  is  possible  for  a  human  character  to  develop  out 
of  the  blank  negation  of  modern  doubt.  There  could 
scarcely  be  a  finer  illustration  of  heroism  resting 
upon  simple  human  foundations  with  no  divine  ele- 
ment recognized.  Strenuous  toil,  unflinching  bravery, 
unquenchable  hopefulness,  seemed  utterly  baffled  and 
powerless  against  the  mighty  forces  of  nature,  and  it 
would  seem  as  if  men  must  look  for  omnipotent  help 
under  such  circumstances;  and  yet  no  prayer  is 
heard.  There  is  a  kind  of  faith  indicated  in  some  of 
Nansen's  expressions,  for  example,  'T  trust  my  star: 
it  will  guide  me  safely  as  it  always  has."  "We  are 
the  tools  of  powers  beyond  us;  we  are  born  under 
lucky  or  unlucky  stars.    Till  now  I  have  lived  under 

157 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

a  lucky  one.  Is  its  light  to  be  darkened?  I  am  su- 
perstitious no  doubt,  but  I  believe  in  my  star."  In 
the  two  large  volumes  there  are  two  or  three  refer- 
ences to  God.  In  one,  Nansen  addresses  himself  and 
says:  ''Here  in  the  great  night  (the  dreary  Arctic 
night  of  half  a  year)  thou  standest  in  all  thy  petti- 
ness face  to  face  with  nature,  and  thou  sittest  de- 
voutly at  the  feet  of  eternity  intently  listening,  and 
thou  knowest  God,  the  all  ruling,  the  centre  of  the 
universe — all  the  riddles  of  life  grown  clear  and  thou 
laughest  at  thyself  that  thou  couldst  be  consumed 
by  brooding,  it  is  so  little,  so  unutterably  little.  .  .  . 
'Who  sees  Jehovah  dies.'  " 

Now  this  lack  of  trust  in  God  as  a  helper  is  un- 
natural in  such  circumstances.  The  world  over  and 
through  all  ages  and  among  all  races  the  cry  of  hu- 
manity ill  extremis  has  burst  forth  for  the  sympathy 
and  help  of  higher  and  unseen  powers.  Nansen's 
ancestors  in  their  ignorance  of  the  true  God,  had 
imagined  gods  with  supernatural  attributes.  While 
they  idealized  the  mighty  forces  of  frost  and  dark- 
ness and  desolation  under  the  guise  of  giants,  they 
made  them  subordinate  to  the  more  potent  ideals  of 
Woden  and  Thor,  and  those  more  genial  deities  the 
sunny  influence  of  the  South,  before  which  darkness 
and  frost  were  driven  away.  Prayer  in  trouble  is 
as  natural  as  our  breath.  Agnosticism  is  only  a  re- 
sult of  speculation.  It  has  well  been  said  that  athe- 
ism never  exists  except  as  a  reasoned  conclusion. 

We  find  in  Nansen's  journal  sublime  thoughts,  as 
158 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

he  contemplates  the  power  and  desolation  that  are 
about  him,  as  he  feels  the  heavy  weight  of  an  Arctic 
night  resting  upon  him  like  a  pall,  or  as  he  looks  with 
amazement  upon  the  gorgeous  auroral  displays  in 
the  heavens.  And  yet  there  is  apparently  no  thought 
of  God  or  of  Providence  in  the  sense  in  which  a 
Christian  would  regard  these  terms. 

The  world  problem,  as  it  may  be  called,  the  plan 
and  destiny  of  this  visible  creation,  seems  to  weigh 
down  his  spirit  with  its  ponderous  and  hopeless  ma- 
terialism. He  finds  no  relief  in  those  divine  aspira- 
tions which  differentiate  humanity  from  the  masses 
of  rock  and  ice  and  from  the  mere  physical  life  of 
the  walrus  and  the  polar  bear.  In  the  prophetic  les- 
sons of  frost  and  Arctic  night,  he  foresees  a  similar 
destiny  for  all  the  world  in  which  we  live.  As  the  po- 
lar sea  with  all  its  islands  is  locked  in  ice,  so  he  tells 
us,  will  this  entire  planet  one  day  become  icebound 
and  dead.  In  the  light  of  geology  and  astronomy, 
none  can  deny  the  soundness  of  this  reasoning,  if  no 
other  interposition  should  occur  to  create  '*a  new- 
heaven  and  a  new  earth."  In  other  words,  if  there 
are  no  powers  at  work  in  the  universe  above  and  be- 
yond those  whose  operations  are  the  subject  of  phy- 
sical science,  then  Nansen  is  right,  and  the  dreariness 
of  an  agnostic  system  could  hardly  be  presented  in 
more  gloomy  colors.  While  we  must  admit  the  con- 
clusion that  the  earth  existed  for  a  very  long  time  be- 
fore vegetable  and  animal  life  were  possible,  and 
that  in  the  gradual  cooling  process  remote  after-ages 

159 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

may  find  it  again  uninhabitable,  yet  that  very  fact, 
if  it  be  a  fact,  prompts  the  human  spirit  to  cry  aloud 
for  something  more  and  better  than  science  can  teach 
us.  It  cannot  be  that  all  that  belongs  to  human  life, 
all  there  is  of  hope  and  love  and  aspiration  in  the 
history  of  this  race  of  ours,  is  merely  an  accident  of 
temperature,  a  mere  fortunate  combination  of 
warmth  and  moisture  reached  at  a  certain  point  in 
the  history  of  a  cooling  planet.  Little  comfort  in- 
deed did  Nansen  find  in  his  dark  reflections.  It  is 
evident  from  his  journal  that  the  agnostic  outlook 
did  not  satisfy  the  wants  of  his  soul. 

It  is  an  interesting  question,  after  all,  whether  the 
high  character  of  a  Nansen  were  possible  aside  from 
the  antecedents  of  early  Christian  training.  A  kind 
of  rude  heroism  might  exist,  for  this  has  been  shown 
in  many  a  savage,  but  the  poise  and  gentleness,  the 
love  of  family  and  home,  the  frequent  mention  of 
wife  and  child  in  terms  of  tenderness,  the  keen  ap- 
preciation of  childhood's  experiences  of  Christmas 
as  well  as  the  generous  companionship  and  regard 
for  others  which  he  evinced — these  certainly  are  in 
strong  contrast  with  the  wild  and  savage  character 
of  the  old  Vikings.  They  were  pirates  of  the  most 
relentless  kind.  They  lived  by  marauding  and  un- 
scrupulous conquest.  Surely  no  races  of  men  have 
shown  a  greater  transformation  than  the  Scandina- 
vian races  under  the  influence  of  Christianity.  The 
old  Norsemen  were  proverbial  for  their  savagery; the 
modern  Norsemen  ar^  distinguished  for  their  quiet 

i6o 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

industry,  love  of  home,  and  love  of  peace.  With  all 
deference,  therefore,  to  Dr.  Adler,  we  would  suggest 
that  this  model  agnostic  owes  much  to  the  Christian 
cultus  which  he  ignores. 

There  is  another  element  in  the  case  which  should 
be  considered;  that  is,  that  the  heroism  of  this  Arctic 
crew  was  partly  due  to  exuberant  health  and  youth. 
There  was  no  use  for  the  doctor,  we  are  told,  by 
these  stalwart  specimens  picked  from  a  nation's  best. 
Even  when  the  two  heroes  of  heroes  lived  alone  for 
a  year  upon  floating  ice,  amid  solitude  and  desola- 
tion which  would  have  crushed  ordinary  men,  they 
remained  in  vigorous  health. 

Now  a  philosophy  of  life  which  can  meet  the  wants 
of  the  great  masses  of  mankind  in  all  the  vicissitudes 
of  misfortune,  sickness  and  feebleness  of  age,  which 
can  sustain  delicate  women  as  well  as  starwart  men, 
must  bear  stronger  tests  than  were  experienced  by 
the  selected  voyagers  of  the  Fram.  In  the  personal 
and  domestic  trials  of  an  average  parish,  at  the  grave 
and  in  the  home  of  the  bereaved,  something  more 
helpful  must  be  found,  else  the  human  race  is  an  or- 
phan cast  forth  remorselessly,  with  no  resources  but 
its  own. 

About  the  time  that  my  attention  was  called  to 
Nansen  and  his  companions,  I  read  Dr.  Jacob  Cham- 
berlain's story  entitled  "In  the  Tiger  Jungle."  There 
was  depicted  a  heroism  quite  as  strong  and  alert  as 
that  of  Nansen.  In  fact,  in  one  brief  trial  he  was 
more  desperately  resolute,  if  possible,  than  was  Nan- 

i5i 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

sen,  even  when  swimming  in  ice  water  after  his  tru- 
ant boat.  But  in  this  case  manly  courage  towering 
to  a  subHme  height,  was  supplemented  by  an  inspir- 
ing faith  in  God.  Readers  of  Dr.  Chamberlain's 
story,  which  there  is  not  space  to  reproduce,  can  im- 
agine— can  see  him  there,  shut  up  in  a  fiat  and  nar- 
row jungle  between  a  swollen  river  and  a  mountain 
bluff  teeming  with  tigers,  ready  to  pounce  upon  him 
and  his  companions  at  any  moment.  Rain,  with  al- 
ternations of  blistering  sunshine,  was  pouring  upon 
them,  and  night  was  fast  approaching,  when  to  their 
horror  they  learned  that  the  only  path  which  afforded 
escape  was  cut  off  by  the  affluents  of  the  Godavery 
river,  now  rendered  impassable  by  the  flood.  The 
men,  thirty  or  forty  in  number,  were  so  mutinous  in 
this  emergency  that  Dr.  Chamberlain  was  obliged 
to  ride  up  and  down  the  marching  column  with  re- 
volver in  hand  to  prevent  desertion.  It  was  too  late 
to  turn  back,  for  they  could  not  escape  from  the  jun- 
gle before  night  would  be  upon  them,  unless  they 
dropped  their  burdens  and  ran  for  dear  life.  It  was 
plain  to  all  that  they  could  not  go  forward.  The 
snarl  of  tigers  was  already  heard  on  the  right  hand, 
the  roar  of  the  swollen  river  was  on  the  left;  they 
seemed  absolutely  hedged  in  and  doomed  to  destruc- 
tion. The  missionary,  scarcely  knowing  why,  com- 
manded to  move  forward,  afraid  to  allow  a  moment's 
pause.  Two  men  in  the  rear  who  had  dropped  their 
burdens  and  were  springing  into  the  jungle  for  es- 
cape were  suddenly  confronted  by  the  apparition  of 

162 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

the  missionary  with  revolver  pointed  at  their  heads. 
Terror-stricken  they  again  took  up  their  burdens  and 
marched  on,  "for  they  knew  not  that  I  would  not 
shoot  them."  While  there  was  absolutely  no  escape 
that  human  wisdom  would  suggest,  the  intrepid  mis- 
sionary prayed  as  he  rode  up  and  down  the  lines,  and 
prayed  again,  and  again,  ''Master  was  it  not  for  Thy 
sake  that  we  came  here  ?  Did  not  we  covenant  with 
Thee  for  the  journey  through?  Have  we  not  faith- 
fully preached  Thy  name  the  whole  long  way  ?  Have 
we  shirked  any  danger,  have  we  quailed  before  any 
foe?  Didst  Thou  not  promise,  T  will  be  with  thee?' 
Now  we  need  Thee;  we  are  in  blackest  danger  for 
this  night.  Only  Thou  canst  save  us  from  this  jun- 
gle, these  tigers,  this  flood.  Master !  Master !  show 
me  what  to  do !" 

''An  answer  came,"  says  Dr.  Chamberlain,  "not 
audible,  but  distinct  as  though  spoken  in  my  ear  by 
human  voice,  'turn  to  the  left,  to  the  Godavery.'  Rid- 
ing rapidly  forward,  I  overtook  the  guides.  'How 
far  is  it  to  the  Godavery  ?'  'A  good  mile.*  'Is  there 
no  village  on  its  bank?'  'No,  none  within  many 
miles,  and  the  banks  are  all  overflowed.'  'Is  there 
no  rising  ground  on  which  we  can  camp  ?'  'No,  it  is 
all  low  and  flat  like  this.'  " 

Then  the  missionary  drew  apart  and  prayed  again, 
while  the  line  still  plodded  on,  and  again,  came  the 
answer,  "Turn  to  the  Godavery  and  you  will  find  res- 
cue." 

"  'Are  you  sure  there  is  no  rising  ground  by  the 
163 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

river?'  I  said  to  the  guides,  'where  we  can  pitch, 
with  the  river  on  one  side  for  protection,  and  camp- 
fires  around  us  on  the  other,  through  the  night?' 

*'  'None  whatever.' 

"  Think  well;  is  there  no  dry  timber  of  which  we 
could  make  a  raft  ?' 

''  *If  there  were  any  it  would  all  be  washed  away 
by  these  floods.' 

"  *Is  there  no  boat  of  any  sort  on  the  river?  I 
have  authority  to  seize  anything  I  need.' 

"  'None  nearer  than  the  cataract'  (twelve  miles 
away). 

"  'How  long  would  it  take  us  to  reach  the  Goda- 
very  ?' 

"Half  an  hour,  but  it  would  be  so  much  time  lost.' 

"  'What  shall  we  do  then  for  the  night?' 

"  'God  knows,'  answered  the  men,  and  they  looked 
the  despair  they  felt." 

Again  the  missionary  prayed,  and  the  answer 
came,  'Turn  to  the  left,  to  the  Godavery,  and  you 
will  find  rescue." 

"I  cannot  explain  it,"  he  says,  "but  to  me  it  was 
as  distinct  as  though  spoken  by  a  voice  in  my  ear; 
it  thrilled  me.  'God's  answer  to  my  prayer,'  said  I, 
'I  cannot  doubt.    I  must  act  and  that  instantly.'  " 

Strange  as  it  seemed  to  the  men,  the  command  to 
halt  and  turn  sharp  to  the  left  was  heeded,  and  under 
the  menace  of  the  revolver  and  almost  dazed  by  the 
desperateness  of  the  situation,  they  filed  rapidly  to- 
ward the  river,  where,  behold !  a  flat  boat  belonging 

164 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

to  the  British  Government  on  the  opposite  shore  (for 
they  were  now  in  the  Nizam's  dominion)  had  been 
broken  from  its  moorings  by  the  power  of  the  cur- 
rent, and  floating  down  the  river  had  been  turned  to 
this  shore  and  this  particular  point,  where  its  two 
occupants  had  tied  it  to  a  tree ! 

Upon  this  safe  refuge  the  whole  party  of  about 
forty  soon  encamped  with  their  large  army  tent  cov- 
ering the  entire  boat.  Fires  were  built  on  the  shore, 
and  Dr.  Chamberlain  stood  guard  at  the  shore  end 
throughout  the  entire  night  to  defend  the  company 
against  the  tigers  whose  roars  were  plainly  heard. 
Even  now  there  was  no  relaxation  in  the  use  of 
means. 

What  a  night  for  this  God-trusting  hero !  What 
gratitude  and  strengthened  faith  and  triumphant  joy 
were  his  and  what  an  object  lesson  for  his  men ! 

Now  there  had  been  no  lack  of  even  physical  hero- 
ism, no  lack  in  the  use  of  means.  A  strong  supe- 
rior intellect,  inspired  and  elevated  by  a  sublime  faith 
in  God,  had  been  strong  enough  to  overcome  the 
doubts  and  fears  of  his  followers,  and  to  move  them 
forward  even  against  their  own  judgment  and  ex- 
perience. I  admire  Nansen,  but  he  could  not  have 
done  this.  In  these  circumstances  the  hero  and  his 
men  would  have  been  at  the  end  of  their  resources. 
Here  superinduced  upon  all  that  sagacity  and  hero- 
ism can  do  was  faith  in  a  divine  Helper,  and  it 
brought  its  triumph. 


165 


A  BUDDHIST  DOCTRINE  OF  SALVATION 
BY  FAITH 

One  of  the  most  obvious  duties  of  a  missionary  in 
entering  upon  his  labors  among  any  people  is  to  learn 
something  of  their  habits  of  thought,  general  cus- 
toms, and  traditional  beliefs.  Even  under  the  com- 
mon name  of  Islam,  the  Mohammedan  philosophy  of 
Persia  differs  widely  from  that  of  the  Turkish  Em- 
pire. And  the  following  chapter  is  designed  to 
show  the  difference  between  various  types  of  Bud- 
dhism and  the  importance  of  missionary  tact  in  find- 
ing the  best  adaptations  and  the  line  of  least  resist- 
ance. 

The  Buddhism  of  Guatama  was  atheistic.  Such 
scholars  as  Sir  Monier  Williams,  Max  Muller,  Hard- 
wick,  Coppen,  and  Edkins,  are  agreed  that  the  teach- 
ings of  the  Buddhist  canon  adopted  two  hundred 
and  fifty  years  after  the  Buddha's  death  discarded  all 
divine  help,  and  at  least  ignored  a  first  cause.  'Trust 
in  thyself  and  in  no  other,  God  or  man,''  was  the  word 
of  the  Indian  saint  to  his  disciples.  Contemporary 
Brahmans  certainly  charged  him  with  atheistic 
teachings  and  influence,  for  they  claimed  him  as  the 

i66 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

ninth  incarnation  of  Vishnu,  on  the  theory  that 
Vishnu,  wishing  to  destroy  certain  demons,  came  in 
the  form  of  Buddha  in  order  to  betray  them  into  the 
fatal  doctrines  of  atheism.  Guatama  also  denied  the 
permanent  and  distinct  entity  of  the  human  soul.  By 
a  sifting  process  worthy  of  Herbert  Spencer,  he  came 
to  consider  what  we  call  the  soul  as  only  a  succession 
of  conscious  experiences.  To  regard  this  as  a  soul  is 
an  illusion  similar  to  that  of  a  boy  who  whirls  a 
lighted  stick  and  thinks  he  sees  a  ring  of  fire.  There 
is  no  ring,  but  only  a  succession  of  points  of  light, 
and  there  is  no  continuity  of  a  soul,  but  only  a  suc- 
cession in  our  thoughts  and  emotions.  It  is  not  a 
soul  then,  but  only  a  record  (karma),  that  survives 
in  transmigration. 

This  Karma  or  character  which  remains  at  death, 
becomes  the  responsible  inheritance  of  a  new  born 
successor.  There  is  no  permanent  being  of  any  kind 
but  only  a  perpetual  becoming.  Everything  is  in  a 
state  of  flux.  There  are  ranks  of  intelligences  supe- 
rior to  man,  but  they,  too,  are  subject  to  the  eternal 
round  of  life  and  death,  until  nirvana  shall  cut  off 
the  necessity  of  rebirth.  Such  was  the  early  and 
canonical  Buddhism.  Some  of  its  subsequent  de- 
velopments have  been  complete  revolutions  or  re- 
versals. Consequently  there  are  now  many  varieties 
of  the  system,  some  semi-theistic,  others  pantheistic. 

When  Guatama  died  and  became  extinct,  leaving 
as  was  believed,  an  interval  of  four  thousand  years 
before  another  Buddha  should  appear,  his  disciples 

167 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

began  to  realize  the  cold  and  desolate  logic  of  his 
teachings.  They  could  not  worship  or  pray,  for 
there  was  no  object  of  worship;  no  hearer  of  prayer. 
The  heavens  were  dark,  and  the  universe  a  profound 
abyss.  The  cheerless  doctrine  of  nirvana  had  prac- 
tically no  attraction;  what  mankind  longed  for  was 
a  divine  sympathizer  and  helper,  and,  in  spite  of  its 
own  canonical  authorities,  subsequent  Buddhism  has 
groped  its  way  toward  some  such  being.  It  was  un- 
derstood as  a  deduction  of  the  system  that  other  be- 
ings destined  to  be  future  Buddhas  were  already  in 
existence  somewhere  in  the  round  of  transmigration, 
and  to  these  '"bodisats,"  as  they  were  called,  human 
expectation  began  to  turn,  and  especially  to  the  ''bo- 
disatva,"  who  should  appear  next  in  order.  Among 
the  southern  Buddhists  this  expected  messiah  was 
called  Maitreyeh,  and  in  Ceylon  his  image  was  placed 
in  the  temples  as  an  object  of  worship  beside  that  of 
the  extinct  Guatama. 

Pursuing  the  same  idea  as  the  expression  of  a  felt 
want  which  the  orthodox  system  did  not  supply, 
the  northern  Buddhists  went  still  further,  and  by  the 
seventh  century  A.  D.,  they  had  developed  a  trinity 
of  bodisats  with  distinct  personalities.  One  repre- 
sented creative  power;  another  was  the  embodiment 
of  wisdom  (Logos);  the  third  was  an  omnipresent 
spirit  pervading  all  Buddhist  communities  upon  the 
earth.  Whether  this  new  doctrine  was  partially  the 
result  of  contact  with  Christianity,  or  whether  as 
some  contend,  it  had  crystallized  various  speculations 

i68 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

around  the  Hindu  trinity  or  trimurti,  it  expressed  in 
either  case  the  want  of  that  supernatural  element 
which  Buddhism  had  vainly  striven  to  discredit  and 
destroy.  It  was  an  important  step  from  practical 
atheism  toward  a  return  to  religious  faith.  By  the 
tenth  century  the  idea  of  trinities  had  assumed  more 
advanced  phases.  In  Nepaul  there  were  supposed  to 
be  five  trinities — one  for  each  of  the  world  systems. 
The  first  person  in  each  of  these  was  called  a  dhyana 
or  celestial  Buddha,  destined  never  to  visit  this 
earth.  For  this  world  system  the  three  were  Arni- 
tahha  (celestial),  Avolokitcs  vara  (an  everywhere 
present  being  though  capable  of  incarnations)  and 
Guatama  Buddha  who  had  appeared  on  earth.  Su- 
preme over  all  these  and  one  from  whom  all  these 
had  emanated  was  Adi  BuddJia.  This  mystical  being 
was  uncreated  and  was  the  source  of  aH  things.  Here 
only,  appeared  a  real  theism.  While  the  conception 
of  the  Supreme  Adi  Buddha  has  not  widely  pre- 
vailed, the  first  and  second  persons  of  the  Buddhist 
trinity  for  our  world  system — Amitabha  and  Avolo- 
kitesvara,  have  attained  great  popularity.  In  the 
Middle  Ages  of  our  era  Avolokitesvara  was  looked 
upon  as  a  helper  available  in  all  places  and  all  emer- 
gencies :  he  was  the  hearer  of  prayer.  The  Chinese 
pilgrim  Fah  Hien  speaks  of  having  prayed  to  him  in 
time  of  shipwreck.  In  Thibet  he  was  and  still  is  sup- 
posed to  become  incarnate  in  each  successive  Grand 
Lama,  thus  constituting  the  government  of  Thibet  a 
sort  of  theocracy.     In  China  and  Japan  this  same 

169 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

popular  bodisat  has  been  found  available  in  meeting 
the  deeper  needs  of  humanity.  The  popular  ''god- 
dess of  mercy"  Quan  Yen  is  believed  to  be  a  divine 
embodiment  of  Avolokitesvara  in  his  female  mani- 
festation. This  notion  was  probably  a  trace  of  the 
old  Indian  saktism  which  assigned  a  wife  or  female 
counterpart  to  Siva  and  other  gods,  and  which  find- 
ing congenial  soil  in  the  phallicism  which  prevailed 
in  most  Asiatic  countries,  and  nowhere  more  notably 
than  in  Japan,  extended  its  corrupting  influence  to 
Buddhism.  Now  in  all  appeals  to  Avolokitesvara  as 
the  omnipresent  hearer  of  prayer,  and  to  Quan  Yen 
as  the  goddess  of  mercy  in  the  sad  emergencies  of 
life,  there  was  a  very  significant  departure  from  the 
fundamental  principles  of  Buddhism.  Instead  of 
self-dependence  there  was  a  cry  for  divine  help.  The 
worship  of  Quan  Yen  became  exceedingly  popular  in 
China  and  Japan.  Longing  as  all  humanity  must, 
for  sympathy,  it  sought  a  more  tender  sympathy  in 
the  female  sex.  As  the  legend  runs,  Quan  Yen  was  a 
heavenly  princess  who  had  attained  nirvana  and  was 
entitled  to  exemption  from  rebirth.  But  on  the 
threshold  of  the  well  earned  extinction,  she  waived 
her  privilege,  and  concluded  to  continue  her  exist- 
ence for  the  purpose  of  commiserating  the  world  of 
mortals.  Meanwhile,  she  went  to  Hades,  as  in  the 
dream  of  Dante,  and  beheld  the  woes  of  the  con- 
demned, that  she  might  the  better  understand  the 
problems  of  human  suffering.  She  has  been  for 
ages  the  representative  of  divine  compassion  and 

170 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

help,  in  all  the  wants  and  distresses  of  the  millions 
of  Buddhists.  Whoever  has  visited  the  temple  of 
Asokosa  in  Tokio  has  seen  a  large  apartment  filled 
with  wax  figures,  illustrative  of  many  miraculous 
rescues  accomplished  by  Quan  Yen  from  fire,  from 
earthquake,  and  shipwreck,  from  famine,  plagues, 
serpents  and  dragons.  Such  as  it  is,  the  worship  of 
Quan  Yen  is  a  worship  of  faith  and  prayer.  It  in- 
volves a  confession  of  human  weakness  and  depend- 
ence, and  it  belies  the  cold,  atheistic  self-confidence  of 
the  original  Buddhism. 

But  a  much  more  striking  doctrine  of  faith  is  seen 
in  the  creed  of  the  Yodo  sect,  found  both  in  China 
and  Japan.  In  Dr.  Edkins's  account  of  Chinese  Bud- 
dhism references  are  made  to  this  sect,  but  a  fuller 
account  is  given  in  a  little  book  published  by  Bunyiu 
Nanjio,  a  Japanese  graduate  of  Oxford,  and  entitled 
*'A  History  of  the  Twelve  Buddhist  Sects  of 
Japan."*  The  doctrines  of  these  sects  are  taken  from 
Japanese  publications,  though  most  of  them  claim 
to  have  been  transmitted  from  India  to  China  be- 
tween the  years  252  and  400  A.  D.  From  China 
they  began  to  be  introduced  into  Japan  in  A.  D.  552. 
According  to  the  Yodo  sect,  there  is  a  Pure  Land  far 
to  the  westward,  separated  from  us  by  a  succession 
of  worlds  and  systems  which  lie  between.    Over  that 


*  A  pamphlet  called  Shin  Shu  Kyo  Shi,  containingf  a 
synopsis  of  the  doctrines  of  the  true  sect,  was  issued  in  De- 
cember, 1876,  by  the  Department  of  Instruction  of  the  leading 
Buddhist  sect  in  Japan.  It  is  from  this  and  from  Mr.  Nanjao's 
book  that  the  quotations  in  this  chapter  are  made. 

171 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

world  presides  not  the  Buddha  nor  the  bodisat 
Avolokites  vara,  but  the  dhyana  or  celestial  Bud- 
dha Amitabha.  This  sect  cuts  loose  from  a  reliance 
upon  meritorious  self-help,  but  not  entirely.  Its  doc- 
trine of  salvation  by  faith  is  not  full-fledged.  Its  at- 
titude is  like  that  of  the  half  emancipated  Judaizing 
Christians  of  whom  the  Apostle  Paul  complained. 
Its  own  statement  is  this : 

''Amitabha  will  transport  to  his  realm  all  believers 
who  keep  perfectly  in  memory  his  name  for  seven 
days,  or  even  one  day,  without  any  reliance  upon  their 
own  effort  in  any  other  respect."  The  efficacious 
grace  is  his  gift,  only  the  act  of  faith  involves  a  sus- 
tained remembrance  of  him  for  at  least  a  day.  Once 
translated  to  the  Pure  and  Heavenly  Land,  the  soul 
of  the  believer  may  there  pursue  the  necessary  steps 
to  "arahatship"  under  more  favorable  circumstances 
than  here.  This  is  a  doctrine  of  faith,  but  it  involves 
conditions  which  are  absurd  and  difficult  to  observe. 
Dr.  Edkins  describes  certain  devotees  of  this  faith  in 
China  whose  stupid  and  endless  repetitions  of  the 
name  of  Amitabha  seem  well  calculated  to  annihi- 
late the  mind  itself  and  end  in  idiocy.  And  the 
Japanese  allege  that  Gen-ku,  their  great  apostle  of 
the  Yodo  faith,  followed  the  rule  of  repeating  the 
name  of  Amitabha  sixty  thousand  times  a  day. 
Nevertheless  they  claim  that  the  grace  of  Amitabha, 
and  not  the  repetition,  is  the  ground  of  hope.  In  any 
case  it  is  an  absolute  abandonment  of  orthodox  Bud- 
dhism. 

172 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

This  sect  is  now  divided  really  into  two,  the  one 
known  as  the  "J^do"  and  the  other  as  the  "Shin 
Shu."  Originally  they  were  one,  taking  their  rise  in 
the  beginning  of  the  twelfth  century  under  a  great 
teacher  known  as  Honen  Shonin.  He  taught  the 
worship  of  Amitabha,  and  also  the  doctrine  of  justi- 
fication by  faith  in  his  boundless  mercy;  but  he  also 
urged  the  value  of  meritorious  deeds.  He  prescribed 
a  ritual  of  endless  repetitions  of  Amitabha's  name 
which  made  his  doctrine  of  faith  really  a  doctrine  of 
works.  As  this  w^as  an  intolerable  burden,  a  reform 
was  instituted  in  the  thirteenth  century  by  Shinran 
Shonin,  a  disciple  of  Honen.  From  his  great  earn- 
estness in  presenting  a  real  doctrine  by  faith  alone, 
and  his  martyr-like  devotion  to  its  maintenance,  he 
has  aptly  been  called  the  "Luther  of  Buddhism."  He 
submitted  unflinchingly  to  banishment  for  con- 
science's sake,  and  bravely  maintained  his  school  in 
a  monastery  among  the  mountains  of  Takate  in 
Shime-tsuke.  He  is  buried  at  Otani,  on  the  moun- 
tain side  above  Kioto.  To  his  grave  myriads  of  his 
disciples  make  annual  pilgrimages  from  all  parts  of 
Japan.  The  Shin  Shu  sect  is  the  outgrowth  of  his 
influence,  and  the  new  Hongwan-ji  temple  at  Kioto 
is  devoted  specially  to  his  honor. 

Dr.  George  William  Knox,  long  a  missionary  in 
Japan,  says:  "This  is  the  one  sect  that  now  shows 
activity.  It  is  the  most  earnest,  influential,  and  popu- 
lar. It  is  this  sect  that  has  sent  priests  to  England  to 
study  Sanscrit,  that  imitates  all  our  missionary  meth- 

173 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

ods,  and  that  has  built  a  magnificent  temple  in  Kioto 
at  a  cost  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars.  Some 
of  the  great  timbers  of  the  temple  were  dragged  from 
distant  provinces  by  ropes  made  of  the  hair  of  women 
who  piously  offered  their  tresses  for  the  purpose,  and 
these  immense  ropes  now  hang  in  the  temple  where 
all  may  see  them.  This  sect  once  ruled  the  rich  and 
powerful  provinces  of  Kaga."  The  entire  cost  of 
this  great  structure  known  as  the  Hongwan-ji,  is 
estimated  at  over  $360,000  and  has  been  met  by 
voluntary  contributions  from  Buddhists  in  all  parts 
of  Japan.  Largely  they  have  been  given  by  the  poor 
and  often  the  very  poor.  Like  all  founders  of  Bud- 
dhist sects,  Honen  and  Shinran  claimed  to  trace 
their  doctrines  from  Guatama  through  a  succession 
of  high  priests  and  patriarchs  of  India,  China  and 
Japan. 

The  efficacious  "original  prayer"  of  Amitabha  was 
rather  an  imprecation,  and  ran  thus :  *Tf  any  living 
beings  of  the  ten  regions  who  have  believed  in  me 
with  true  thoughts  and  desire  to  be  born  in  my  coun- 
try (the  Pure  Land),  and  have  even  to  ten  times  re- 
peated the  thought  of  my  name,  should  not  be  born 
there,  then  may  I  not  attain  perfect  knowledge." 
"This  original  prayer,"  says  Nanjio,  "sprang  from 
his  great,  compassionate  desire,  which  longed  to  de- 
liver living  beings  from  suffering.  With  this  orig- 
inal prayer  he  practiced  good  actions  during  many 
kalpas  (long  ages),  intending  to  bring  his  stock  of 


174 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

merits  to  maturity  for  the  sake  of  other  living  be- 
ings." 

A  short  creed  prepared  by  one  of  the  later  Shin 
Shu  apostles,  Rennio  Shonin,  is  as  follows:  "Re- 
jecting all  religious  austerities  and  other  action, 
giving  up  all  ideas  of  self-power,  we  rely  upon 
Amita  Buddha ;  our  salvation  is  settled  from  the  mo- 
ment that  invocation  of  his  name  is  observed  as  an 
expression  of  gratitude  and  thankfulness  for  Bud- 
dha's mercy.  Moreover,  being  thankful  for  the  re- 
ception of  this  doctrine  from  the  founder  and  suc- 
ceeding chief  priests,  whose  teachings  were  so 
benevolent,  and  as  welcome  as  light  in  a  dark  night, 
we  must  also  keep  the  laws  which  are  fixed  for  our 
duty  during  our  whole  life." 

A  still  more  modern  statement  is  thus  given  by 
Mr.  Akamatsu,  a  distinguished  member  of  the  sect 
in  Kioto,  and  published  in  the  April  number,  for 
1881,  of  the  Chrysanthemum  now  discontinued. 
*'Amita  Buddha  always  exercises  his  boundless 
mercy  upon  all  creatures,  and  shows  a  great  desire 
to  help  and  influence  all  people  who  rely  upon  him  to 
complete  all  merits,  and  to  be  re-born  into  paradise. 
Our  sect  pays  no  attention  to  other  Buddhas,  but  put- 
ting faith  only  in  the  great  desire  of  Amita  Buddha, 
expects  to  escape  from  the  miserable  world,  and  to 
enter  into  paradise  in  the  next  life.  From  the 
time  of  putting  faith  in  the  saving  power  of 
(this)  Buddha,  we  do  not  need  any  power  of  self- 
help,  but  need  only  to  keep  his  mercy  in  heart,  and 

175 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

invoke  his  name  in  order  to  remember  him.  These 
things  we  call  'thanksgiving  for  salvation.'  " 

Here  is  a  doctrine,  not  only  of  faith  but  of  substi- 
tution. And  Aniitabha,  thus  endowed  with  power  to 
save,  *'is  known  as  Light  and  Life,  with  infinite  wis- 
dom and  compassion.  Therefore  he  can  take  hold 
of  the  faithful  beings  with  his  own  light,  and  let 
them  go  to  be  born  in  his  Pure  Land."  The  be- 
liever's faith  is  defined  as  involving  three  elements : 
first,  the  thought  of,  second,  belief  in,  and  third,  de- 
sire to  be  born  in,  the  Pure  Land.  'Tf  we  examine 
our  heart,"  says  the  Japanese  expounder,  ''it  is  far 
from  being  pure  and  true.  It  is  bad  and  despicable, 
false  and  hypocritical.  How  can  we  cut  off  all  our 
passions  and  reach  nirvana  by  our  own  power  ?  How 
can  we  also  have  the  three-fold  faith?  Therefore, 
knowing  the  inability  of  our  own  power,  we  should 
believe  simply  in  the  vicarious  power  of  the  original 
prayer.  If  we  do  this,  we  are  in  correspondence  with 
the  wisdom  of  Buddha  Amitabha  and  share  his  great 
compassion,  just  as  the  w^ater  of  rivers  becomes  salt 
as  soon  as  it  enters  the  sea." 

It  is  interesting  to  see  how  this  abandonment  of 
the  all-prevailing  Buddhist  doctrine  of  works  is  har- 
monized wath  a  proper  requirement  that  works  shall 
not  practically  be  abandoned.  The  doctrine  which 
covers  this  point  seems  marvelously  at  one  with  the 
New  Testament  "faith  which  works  by  love."  'Tf 
we  dwell  in  such  a  faith,"  says  our  author,  "our  prac- 
tice follows  spontaneously,  since  we  feel  thankful  for 

176 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

the  favor  of  Buddha,  remember  his  mercy  and  re- 
peat his  name.  This  is  the  repetition  of  the  thought 
(of  the  Buddha's  name)  only  ten  times  as  spoken  in 
the  original  prayer.  Of  course,  it  does  not  limit  to 
the  number  of  ten,  so  that  the  words  nai  shi  (even to) 
are  added.  There  are  some  who  may  repeat  the 
name  of  Buddha  for  the  whole  life,  and  while  walk- 
ing, dwelling,  sitting  or  lying  down.  Some  may, 
however,  do  the  remembrance  of  Buddha  only  once 
before  they  die.  Whether  often  or  not,  our  practice 
of  repeating  Buddha's  name  certainly  follows  our 
faith."  'This  faith  and  practice,"  he  goes  on  to  say, 
**are  easy  of  attainment  by  any  one.  Accordingly, 
the  great  Buddhist  rules  of  becoming  homeless  and 
free  from  worldly  desire  in  order  to  attain  Buddha- 
hood,  are  not  considered  essential  to  this  sect."  Con- 
sequently, even  the  priests  are  allowed  to  marry,  to 
eat  flesh  and  fish,  w^hile  those  of  other  sects  are  not. 
The  reasons  given  for  the  need  of  a  vicarious  salva- 
tion are  as  follows : 

'The  inferior  capacities  of  men  are  dark,  they  can- 
not tread  the  Holy  Path  and  rise  to  perfection.  So 
the  Shodo  Mon  does  not  prosper.  It  is  forcing  a  law 
upon  men  who  cannot  practice,  like  urging  fowls 
to  go  into  water.  How  can  this  be  reasonable?" 
Then  it  is  shown  that  as  a  matter  of  fact  those  who 
attempt  the  Holy  Path  fail  in  every  requirement. 
'They  cannot  fulfill  a  single  one  of  its  precepts.  They 
live  in  great  temples  and  style  themselves  abbots. 
Externally  they  exhibit  worth  and  goodness:  inter- 

177 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

nally  they  are  full  of  covetousness  and  sordidness. 
They  wear  silks  and  satins,  they  sit  on  hair  rugs 
luxuriantly.  They  delude  men,  they  deceive  them- 
selves. They  forsake  the  world  and  are  much  more 
worldly  than  ever.  Alas!  They  drink  wine,  they 
eat  flesh.  How  can  they  be  said  to  keep  the  prohibi- 
tions? If  they  are  not  employed  at  one  thing  they 
are  at  another.  How  can  they  have  leisure  for 
meditation?  Of  inordinate  lust,  and  greedy  for  gain, 
what  zeal  in  the  performance  of  religious  duty  do 
they  possess  ?  They  envy  the  worthy,  they  revile  the 
good.  What  patience  do  they  possess?  Certainly 
they  possess  no  knowledge.  They  cannot  regulate 
their  conduct  according  to  the  truth.  Thus  at  one 
time  they  are  courageous  in  the  performance  of  re- 
ligious duty,  imperatively  they  set  about  the  per- 
formance of  the  six  paramitas  but  they  cannot  con- 
tinue. If  they  cannot  practice  the  six  paramitas,  it  is 
certain  they  cannot  attain  deliverance."  No  more 
scathing  account  of  the  practical  Buddhism  of  the 
Japanese  has  ever  been  given  than  this  picture  drawn 
by  a  sect  which  calls  itself  "The  True  Sect"  and 
which  is  the  most  numerous  and  influential  in  Japan. 
But  this  sect  comes  nearer  to  the  teaching  of  Paul 
the  Apostle  than  to  that  of  Guatama.  It  presents  a  me- 
diator between  karma  and  the  sinner,  a  ground  of 
redemption  in  the  vicarious  merit  of  another,  a  sal- 
vation not  by  "the  eightfold  path"  but  by  faith,  a 
righteousness  achieved  not  by  obedience  to  law,  but 
by  Imputation,  a  renunciation  of  all  trust  in  works  as 

178 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

being  ''useless  as  furs  worn  in  summer,"  and  yet  like 
Christianity  it  enjoins  obedience,  rendered  not  as 
compensation,  but  in  love.  The  above  named  author 
says,  'Those  who  belong  to  this  sect  are  to  keep  their 
occupation  properly  and  to  discharge  their  duty  so  as 
to  be  able  to  live  in  harmony.  They  should  also  cul- 
tivate their  persons  and  regulate  their  families.  They 
should  keep  order  and  obey  the  laws  of  the  govern- 
ment, and  do  the  best  for  the  sake  of  the  country." 
This  is  Buddhism,  turning  its  back  upon  all  its  past 
history  and  its  essential  doctrines.  The  "noble  path" 
is  no  longer  the  life  of  droning  idleness  and  contem- 
plation, but  that  of  thrifty  and  industrious  citizen- 
ship ;  it  has  caught  something  of  Paul's  terse  motto, 
"Not  slothful  in  business,  fervent  in  spirit,  serving 
the  Lord."  Again  this  faith  comes  by  knowledge  or 
by  preaching.  (How  shall  they  call  upon  Him  of 
whom  they  have  not  heard  and  how  shall  they  hear 
without  a  preacher?)  Thus  'Tt  is  necessary  for  us 
who  are  unenlightened  if  we  desire  to  be  born  in 
the  Pure  Land,  to  have  faith  by  the  power  of  another. 
If  we  desire  to  have  faith  by  the  power  of  another 
we  must  hear  the  vow  name  (Amitabha).  If  we 
desire  to  hear  the  vow  name  we  must  look  to  the 
good  and  wise,  i.  e.  Buddhist  priests  and  teachers." 
But  like  the  Christian  doctrine  this  system  teaches 
that  we  are  dependent  even  for  our  faith.  (We  are 
saved  by  faith,  and  that  not  of  ourselves.)  "Nor  can 
you  be  born  in  the  Pure  Land  by  the  faith  which  is 
of  one's  own  power.     You  must  without  fail  have 

179 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

the  faith  which  is  by  the  power  of  another.  The 
power  of  Buddha  is  the  power  of  another.  The 
heart  which  beheves  clearly  in  the  knowledge  of 
Buddha  is  produced  by  the  power  of  Buddha.  It  is 
not  put  forth  by  one's  self.  For  one's  own  heart  to 
excite  this,  is  called  faith  by  one's  own  power.  That 
heart  is  not  strong;  speedily  it  changes;  it  is  like  a 
picture  drawn  on  water.  But  faith  by  the  power  of 
another,  recedes  not  from  its  strength.  It  is  like 
the  diamond.  Buddha  (Amitabha)  confers  this 
heart.  He  bestows  it  on  all  living  beings."  It  is 
worthy  of  notice  also  that  in  place  of  the  doctrine  of 
endless  transmigration  there  is  a  permanent  abode  in 
heaven.  According  to  the  Shin  sect,  'Svhen  believers 
abandon  the  impure  body  of  the  present  life  and  are 
born  in  that  Pure  Land,  they  at  once  accomplish  the 
highest  and  most  excellent  fruits  of  nirvana.  This 
is  because  they  simply  rely  upon  the  power  of  the 
original  prayer." 

We  have  now  reached  as  the  highest  stage  of  a 
long  continued  development  in  Buddhism,  a  veritable 
doctrine  of  salvation  by  faith.  It  does  not  depend 
upon  any  stipulated  number  of  repetitions  of  the 
name  of  Amitabha.  It  abandons  meritorious  prac- 
tices totally  as  grounds  of  hope.  It  trusts  in  the 
stored-up  merit  of  one  who  is  able  to  save  all  men. 
Yet,  while  it  refuses  to  depend  on  human  merit,  it 
still  recommends  works  as  the  result  of  faith  and  the 
fulfillment  of  loyalty,  gratitude,  and  love.  It  dis- 
misses at  once  the  whole  doctrine  and  practice  of 

1 80 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

asceticism  as  well  as  the  endless  and  hopeless  career 
of  transmigrations.  It  points  to  a  heaven  to  which 
the  redeemed  shall  go  immediately  after  death,  and 
in  which  they  shall  dwell  forever  in  the  presence  of 
the  being,  by  whose  merits  they  are  saved.  This 
certainly  is  a  wonderful  approach  to  Christianity.  It 
seems  to  have  been  worked  out  upon  the  recognized 
w^ants  of  the  human  soul,  and  thus  bears  unconscious 
testimony  to  the  still  more  perfect  adaptation  of  the 
Christian  faith  to  meet  those  wants.  If  it  has  bor- 
rowed aught  from  the  Gospel  of  Grace,  that  is  a 
tribute;  if  it  has  not  borrowed,  it  still  pays  a  tribute 
to  the  divine  wisdom  which  has  suited  the  Gospel  to 
human  needs. 

The  two  sects  of  the  Yodo  and  the  Shin  embrace 
the  majority  of  Buddhists  in  Japan,  and  when  rightly 
understood  they  present  the  most  promising  of  all 
fields  for  missionary  effort.  It  may  be  said  that  they 
are  not  far  from  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  In  one 
sense  they  are  not;  in  another  they  are  at  an  im- 
measurable distance  from  it,  in  that  they  are  trusting 
in  a  myth  instead  of  the  Son  of  the  living  God. 
Amitabha  is  not  in  the  highest  sense  divine.  He  is 
not  a  self-existent  creator,  and  is  not  necessarily  su- 
preme. Broken  cisterns  were  never  more  success- 
fully hewn  and  were  never  more  empty. 

As  already  shown  there  are  in  Japan  twelve  dis- 
tinct sects  of  Buddhists,  while  China  claims  at  least 
thirteen.  Among  these  are  the  most  conflicting 
varieties.     Some  are  atheistic,  others  the  thinnest 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

nebulae  of  mysticism,  others  subtle  systems  of 
pantheism,  while  in  the  two  sects  above  named  we 
find  near  approaches  to  theism  and  to  the  Gospel  of 
Christ.  What  shall  the  missionary  do  who  knows 
nothing  of  these  distinctions  ?  Instead  of  indiscrimi- 
nate blundering,  how  important  that  whosoever  en- 
counters the  believers  in  Amitabha  should  be  able  to 
say  with  glowing  heart,  "Whom  ye  ignorantly  wor- 
ship him  declare  I  unto  you." 

Professor  Max  Muller  who  values  everything  ac- 
cording to  its  relation  to  what  he  calls  the  ''science 
of  religion,"  seems  to  regret  these  modern  departures 
from  the  old  theoretic  Buddhism  of  southern  India, 
and  he  invites  young  Japanese  representatives  of 
these  advanced  sects  to  come  to  Oxford,  where  they 
may  study  Sanscrit  and  learn  the  true  Buddhism  of 
the  old  time.  But  those  who  hope  for  Japanese  evan- 
gelization can  hardly  share  his  regret.  We  rejoice 
rather  with  the  brightest  hope  and  expectation.  We 
look  for  a  time  not  far  distant  when  those  who  have 
already  abandoned  real  Buddhism  and  are  trusting 
wholly  in  the  merits  of  Amitabha  shall  transfer  their 
faith  and  hope  to  Him  whose  right  it  is  to  reign  and 
who  alone  can  save. 


182 


ANCIENT   HINDU  DOCTRINE   OF   SACRI- 
FICE AND  THE  GOSPEL  OF  CHRIST 

It  has  been  well  said  that  the  idea  of  sacrifice 
which  lies  at  the  foundation  of  the  Christian  atone- 
ment— is  as  wide-spread  as  the  human  race.  It  is  co- 
extensive with  the  idea  of  God.  Amongst  all  na- 
tions, in  all  ages,  the  need  of  sacrifice  has  been  recog- 
nized in  the  consciousness  of  sin  and  of  want;  one 
of  the  uses  of  the  fetish  is  to  placate.  And  in  no 
nation  in  the  world,  not  even  among  the  Jews,  has 
bloody  sacrifice  had  a  more  prominent  place,  than 
among  the  ancient  Brahmans  of  India. 

But  it  so  happens  that  in  the  progress  of  time  and 
the  drift  of  changing  religious  sentiment,  the  old 
doctrine  of  sacrifice  taught  in  the  Vedas  has  become 
the  most  awkward  and  inconvenient  element  in  mod- 
ern Hindu  thought;  and  this  for  four  reasons: 

First.  Buddhism,  which  arose  in  India  between 
five  and  six  centuries  B.  C,  began,  with  the  help  of 
various  philosophic  schools,  a  bitter  and  successful 
crusade  against  the  doctrine  and  usages  of  sacrifice. 
Till  that  time  the  system  had  deluged  the  land  with 
blood,  and  had  impoverished  the  people  in  the  in- 
terest of  the  Brahmanical  priesthood.    But  it  is  very 

183 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

humiliating  to  be  obliged  to  confess  that  Buddhism 
destroyed  a  system  which  the  ''Eternal  Vedas"  had 
enjoined. 

Second.  The  doctrine  of  transmigration,  which 
had  not  been  taught  in  the  Vedas,  but  arose  at  a 
later  day,  came  into  direct  conflict  with  the  sacrificial 
system,  since  animals  came  to  be  recognized  as  pos- 
sible incarnations  of  the  human  spirit,  and  sacrifice 
might  therefore  be  chargeable  with  murder. 

Third.  The  later  Hinduism,  which  is  a  composite 
of  all  the  faiths  ever  known  in  India,  borrowed  in 
time  from  some  of  the  earlier  non-Aryan  tribes,  the 
worship  of  cattle;  and  as  cattle  had  been  reckoned 
among  the  most  valuable  victims  of  sacrifice,  here 
was  an  insuperable  difficulty. 

Fourth.  In  their  desire  to  join  with  the  agnosti- 
cism, naturalism,  and  theosophy  of  the  West,  in  their 
sneers  at  the  Christian  doctrine  of  a  vicarious  sacri- 
fice for  the  sins  of  men,  the  educated  classes  in  In- 
dia have  found  themselves  handicapped  worse  than 
ever,  by  the  old  sacrificial  system  of  the  Vedas. 

In  these  circumstances  the  society  known  as  the 
Arya  Somaj,  and  other  Hindus  who  hold  that  the 
Sacred  Vedas  are  the  authoritative  sources  of  all 
wisdom,  are  driven  to  the  desperate  alternative  of 
denying  that  sacrifice  was  ever  made  an  element  in 
the  Hindu  religion.  I  may  say  in  passing  that 
Christianity  has  no  difficulty  of  this  kind.  In  the 
abrogation  of  the  old  sacrificial  system  of  the  Jews, 
which  has  passed  away,  there  is  no  inconsistency: 

184 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

for  the  new  dispensation  not  only  admits  its  exist- 
ence, but  builds  upon  it  as  a  typical  institution  which 
has  found  its  end  and  fulfillment  in  the  one  great 
sacrifice  made  once  for  all.  But  where  Christianity 
is  strongly  buttressed  by  the  old  historic  ritual,  Hin- 
duism is  absolutely  weak  and  contradictory.  The 
Aryas  or  followers  of  Dyananda,  do  not  hesitate  to 
assert  in  the  face  of  the  clearest  light  and  the  plainest 
facts,  that  sacrifices  are  nowhere  ordained  in  their 
holy  books.  This  is  the  position  which  they  are  now 
trying  to  maintain  before  the  intelligent  public  of 
India  and  the  world  at  large. 

The  truth  is  that  the  Hindu  Aryans  carried  the 
doctrine  and  practice  of  sacrifice  to  greater  extremes 
than  any  other  nation  known  to  history.  Though 
less  given  to  human  sacrifice  than  some  of  the  Aryan 
settlers  in  northern  Europe,  or  the  Toltecs  and 
Aztecs  of  the  American  continent,  they  built  up  a 
far  more  elaborate  and  extended  system.  Dropping 
at  an  early  day  the  peculiar  significance  of  sacrifice 
and  regarding  it  chiefly  as  an  offering  of  gifts,  the 
Brahmans  degraded  it  to  a  mere  bargaining  with 
the  gods — they  themselves  receiving  the  emoluments. 
The  Aryans  of  those  days  had  not  become  a  rice- 
eating  race,  and  their  arrogant  priesthood  were  far 
enough  from  the  mendicancy  of  the  rice  bowl.  The 
flesh  of  slain  beasts  was  largely  theirs,  as  well  as  the 
rice  cakes  and  melted  butter  and  intoxicating  soma, 
which  the  deluded  people  placed  on  the  sacred  altars. 
The  more  extravagantly  they  could  extol  the  merit 

185 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

or  trade  value  of  offerings  in  the  commerce  of  earth 
and  heaven,  the  larger  their  personal  gains.  They 
taught  the  lower  castes  that  the  generous  giver  might 
demand  almost  any  boon,  and  that  the  gods  were 
bound  to  honor  his  draft.  He  who  should  sacrifice 
a  hundred  horses  might  claim  the  throne  of  Indra 
and  bankrupt  heaven.  To  give  apparent  consistency 
to  these  preposterous  doctrines,  it  was  maintained 
that  demons  had  actually  wrecked  the  universe  by 
the  magnitude  of  their  offerings,  and  that  Vishnu 
had  twice  become  incarnated  for  the  purpose  of  re- 
storing the  world  from  these  calamities. 

After  about  three  centuries  of  this  priestly  domi- 
nation, this  reckless  and  wholesale  extortion,  this 
deluging  of  the  land  with  sacrificial  blood,  say  from 
800  to  500  B.  C,  Buddhism  arose  in  protest,  and 
the  six  schools  of  philosophy  joined  with  it  in  well- 
nigh  extinguishing  the  rites  of  animal  sacrifice,  and 
overthrowing  the  high-handed  sacerdotalism  that 
had  enthralled  them.  A  Buddhist  military  chieftain 
rose  to  supreme  powder,  and  for  a  century  or  two  a 
Buddhist  dynasty  ruled  India  and  made  Buddhism 
the  religion  of  the  state. 

Well  versed  in  these  facts,  and  qualified  by  his 
thorough  knowledge  of  Sanscrit  to  explore  the  Vedas, 
Dr.  Henry  Martyn  Clark,  missionary  of  the  Church 
Missionary  Society  at  Amritsur,  aided  by  a  native 
Christian  scholar,  has  taken  up  this  contention  of  the 
*'Aryas,"  and  has  discomfited  them  on  their  own 
ground.    The  case  illustrates  the  importance  of  hav- 

186 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

ing  at  least  some  missionaries  in  the  field  who  are 
Sanscrit  scholars  and  are  thoroughly  acquainted  with 
the  teaching  of  the  Vedas,  and  who  are  therefore  able 
to  refute  the  false  assertions  which  presume  upon  the 
ignorance  of  the  foreign  community.  He  has  demon- 
strated to  the  Aryas  that  they  cannot  join  the  noisy 
camp  of  humanitarian  prophets  of  universal  brother- 
hood, in  denouncing  the  Christian  doctrine  of  vi- 
carious sacrifice  as  a  savage  relic  of  a  barbarous  age, 
and  yet  maintain  the  inerrancy  of  their  own  ancient 
literature.  He  shows  that  the  Vedas  are  not  only 
full  of  the  doctrine  of  sacrifice,  but  that  their  earliest 
hymns  contain,  as  we  shall  see,  strange  references 
to  a  Divine  sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  the  world. 

In  a  lecture  given  by  Dr.  Clark  on  the  Vedic 
doctrine  of  sacrifice,  printed  at  the  Albert  Press  in 
Lahore,  in  1887,  he  presents  a  large  number  of  orig- 
inal Sanscrit  texts  taken  with  chapter  and  verse  from 
the  Vedas,  and  followed  by  literal  translations,  in 
which  he  exposes  all  the  false  assumptions,  which 
are  set  forth  with  such  an  air  of  superior  knowl- 
edge, in  the  circulars  and  leaflets  of  the  Aryas. 
He  opens  his  lecture  by  a  quotation  from  Dr. 
Mitra  Lai,  an  eminent  Hindu  scholar,  who, 
though  not  a  Christian,  was  at  least  candid  and 
honest.  Dr.  Mitra  says:  "We  can  nowhere  meet 
with  a  more  appropriate  reply  (to  the  Arya  as- 
sumptions) than  in  the  fact  that  when  the  Brah- 
mans  had  to  contend  against  Buddhism,  which 
so  emphatically  and  successfully  denounced  all  sac- 

187 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

rifices,  they  found  the  doctrine  of  respect  for  animal 
Ufe  too  strong  and  too  popular  to  be  overcome,  and 
therefore  gradually  and  imperceptibly  adopted  it, 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  make  it  appear  a  part  of  their 
Shastras.  They  gave  prominence  to  such  passages 
as  preached  benevolence  and  mercy  to  all  animated 
creation,  and  so  removed  to  the  background  the  sac- 
rificial ordinances  as  to  put  them  entirely  out  of 
sight.  Such  a  process  is  even  now  going  on  in  Hin- 
duism under  the  influence  of  Christianity."  (The 
Aryas  have  exchanged  many  of  the  old  Hindu  mon- 
strosities for  Christian  ethics,  promulgating  them 
under  Vedic  labels.)  Dr.  Mitra  adds:  ''The  Hindu 
mind  during  the  ascendency  of  Buddhism  was  al- 
ready well  prepared  for  a  change  by  the  teaching  of 
Buddhist  missionaries,  and  no  difficulty  was  met 
with  in  making  faith,  devotion,  and  love,  supply  the 
place  of  the  holocausts  and  unlimited  meat  offerings 
ordained  by  the  Vedas.  The  abstention  was  at  first, 
no  doubt,  optional,  but  gradually  it  became  general, 
partly  from  a  natural  disposition  to  benevolence,  and 
partly  out  of  a  respect  to  the  feeling  of  Buddhist 
neighbors,  such  as  the  Mohammedans  now  evince  for 
their  Hindu  fellow-subjects,  by  abstaining  from 
meats  in  various  parts  of  Bengal.  Writers  found  it 
easy  to  appeal  to  the  practice  of  the  people  and  to 
public  feeling,  as  proofs  even  as  potent  as  the  Vedas, 
and  authoritatively  to  declare  that  sacrifices  were  for- 
bidden in  the  present  age.  This  once  done,  the 
change  was  complete;  in  short  the  Buddhist  appeal 

i8S 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

to  humanity  proved  too  much  for  the  Smriti  (infal- 
lible literature),  and  custom  has  now  given  a  rigidity 
to  the  horror  against  the  sacrifice  of  animal  life, 
which  even  the  Vedas  fail  to  welcome."  This  is  the 
candid  utterance  of  a  high  caste  non-Christian 
Hindu. 

Dr.  Clark  proceeds  to  show  that  the  Aryas  of  the 
present  day  feel  the  force  of  this  breach  between  the 
Vedas  and  the  popular  sentiment  and  custom.  *'And 
failing  to  establish  their  assumptions  in  regard  to 
the  Vedic  teaching,  they  have  been  driven  to  the  al- 
ternative of  either  explaining  away  Vedic  passages 
into  meaningless  vacuities,  or  abandoning  them  alto- 
gether." Not  only  from  the  Darsanas,  from  Manu. 
and  other  traditional  literatures,  but  also  from  the 
Rig- Veda,  and  that  in  many  passages,  Dr.  Clark 
quotes  the  most  direct  and  emphatic  inculcations  of 
the  virtue  of  sacrifices,  and  the  duty  of  ofifering  them, 
and  he  cites  directions  scarcely  less  specific  and  mi- 
nute than  those  of  the  Levitical  law.  These  it  is  not 
necessary  to  quote.  Twenty-two  different  Vedic 
passages  are  given  in  immediate  succession.  The 
horse  and  the  cow,  much  more  generally  the  latter, 
were  the  objects  of  sacrifice,  though  the  horse  was 
considered  the  more  honorable  and  valuable  victim. 
The  Brahmans  not  only  sacrificed  cows,  but  they 
ate  their  flesh  habitually,  and  this  was  one  of  the 
chief  items  of  their  income.  Page  after  page  of 
quotations  are  given  in  reference  to  the  sacrifice  of 


tSf) 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

these  animals,  the  method  of  selecting,  the  process  of 
slaying  etc. 

If  Dr.  Clark  were  in  need  of  corroborations,  I 
find  in  the  Vedic  Brahmanas  translated  in  the 
"Sacred  Books  of  the  East"  some  fifteen  pages  de- 
voted to  minute  rules  for  sacrificing  a  cow.  Dr. 
Clark  shows  that  even  human  sacrifices  were  recog- 
nized and  authorized  by  the  Vedas.  Thus  from  the 
Yajur-Veda  he  quotes,  "That  men  may  be  sacrificed 
to  Prajapatti."  This  practice  of  human  sacrifice  the 
Aryas  deny,  but  here  it  is  in  their  own  Vedas.  It  is 
a  little  surprising  that  there  should  be  such  sensitive- 
ness in  regard  to  this  matter,  when  it  is  but  a  com- 
paratively short  time  since  women  were  burned  with 
the  bodies  of  their  husbands  by  hundreds  and  thous- 
ands; men  were  crushed  under  the  wheels  of  Jug- 
gernauth,  by  their  own  act,  it  is  true,  but  by  the  en- 
couragement of  the  priesthood,  and  Hindu  women 
threw  their  first-born  into  the  Ganges.  The  Thugs 
perpetrated  wholesale  murders  under  the  guise  of 
religious  duty  and  to  glorify  Kali  with  human  blood. 
Dr.  Clark  shows  that  in  ancient  Vedic  rites  men  were 
called  to  sacrifice  themselves  by  drowning;  accord- 
ing to  another  rite  the  victim  must  burn  himself  to 
death.  In  one  of  the  Mandalas  of  the  Rig- Veda  he 
finds  the  description  of  a  certain  sacrifice  in  which 
the  victim  bound  to  a  stake,  pleads  with  the  gods  to 
be  released.  In  the  Taittiriya  Brahmana  of  the  Rig- 
Veda  there  is  the  well-known  story  of  Haris 
Chandra,  who  was  about  to  of¥er  his  son  in  sacrifice, 

190 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

when  the  boy  was  bought  off  with  the  substitute  of 
one  hundred  cows,  which  the  Brahmans  greatly  pre- 
ferred. In  the  Purusha  Medha,  one  hundred  and  sev- 
enty-nine names  of  gods  are  given,  and  the  appro- 
priate class  of  human  beings  to  be  offered  to  each  god 
is  mentioned ;  thus  to  one,  a  preacher  of  morality  is 
to  be  sacrificed ;  to  another  a  courtezan ;  to  another  a 
jeweler;  to  another  a  news-dealer;  to  various  ugly 
divinities,  deformed  and  imperfect  specimens  of  hu- 
manity must  be  offered.  Dr.  Clark  gives  several 
pages  of  proofs  on  this  point,  which  render  the  as- 
sumption of  the  Aryas,  that  the  Hindu  religion  has 
always  been  stainless  of  the  blood  of  sacrifice,  ridic- 
ulous. The  influence  of  Buddhism,  the  doctrine  of 
transmigration,  the  universal  reverence  for  and  virtual 
worship  of  the  cow,  and  more  than  a  century  of 
Christian  influence,  have  indeed  proved  too  strong 
for  the  ancient  custom,  but  it  is  inwrought  into  the 
very  texture  and  life  of  Vedic  Hinduism. 

There  is  another  most  interesting  fact  upon  which 
Dr.  Clark  enlarges,  namely  the  Vedic  evidence  of  an 
ancient  idea  of  a  divine  and  all-suflicient  vicarious 
sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  men.  It  should  be  said  that 
even  in  the  early  notices  of  actual  sacrifice,  Hindu 
offerings  seem  to  have  been  destitute  of  a  piacular 
character.  They  denote  a  stage  in  the  history  of  the 
rite  in  which  it  had  become  a  mercenary  thing,  re- 
sembling that  of  Cain  rather  than  that  of  Abel.  But 
there  are  Vedic  passages  which  would  go  to  show 
that  in  the  very  earliest  conceptions  of  sacrifice,  it 

191 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

had  been  truly  piacular  and  vicarious.  This  fact  is 
brought  out  by  Sir  Monier  WiUiams  in  his  large  and 
exhaustive  work,  Indian  Wisdom.  It  is  still  more 
clearly  presented  by  the  late  Prof.  Banerjea,  author 
of  The  Aryan  Witness,  and  a  Brahman  of  the 
Brahmans,  who,  in  speaking  of  these  Vedic  refer- 
ences to  a  divine  and  voluntary  sacrifice  for  the  sins 
of  men  and  of  gods,  remarks  that  'Tt  is  impossible 
to  understand  them  on  any  other  theory,  than  that 
they  are  reminiscences  of  an  early  promise  to  man- 
kind of  the  Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world."  Dr.  Clark  dwells  upon  these  same  proofs, 
w^hich  he  quotes.  He  says:  'Tn  repudiating  the 
doctrine  of  sacrifice,  our  Arya  friends  really  reject 
all  that  is  grand  and  noble  in  the  Vedas;  they  turn 
their  backs  on  the  one  great  truth  which  would,  if 
followed  to  its  fulness,  make  them  free  men,  and  save 
their  souls.  The  ancient  Aryans  had  this  truth 
burned  deep  into  their  souls,  that  without  shedding 
of  blood  there  can  be  no  remission  of  sin.  They  did 
not  know  this  truth  in  all  its  fulness,  but  still,  how- 
ever dimly  and  partially,  they  had  realized  that  sin 
must  be  atoned  for.  The  guiltless  life  was  taken,  and 
the  guiltless  blood  was  shed,  to  atone  for  the  sins  of 
their  souls.  Their  hope  was  that  the  sacrifice  might 
be  accepted  in  place  of  the  sacrificer,  and  that  the 
punishment  of  his  sin  might  be  visited  on  the  sub- 
stitute ofifered  in  his  stead.  This  is  a  wonderful  rev- 
elation of  the  belief  of  the  ancient  Aryans;  it  v/as  be- 
cause sacrifice  was  to  them  the  atonement  for  sin, 

192 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

and  the  deliverer  from  death,  that  they  called  it  'the 
principal  thing' — 'the  navel  of  the  universe.'  " 

The  following  passages  will  show  the  piacular 
character  of  the  ancient  conception  of  sacrifice;  thus 
from  the  Rig- Veda;  "Do  thou  by  means  of  sacrifice 
take  away  from  us  all  sins."  And  again  in  the 
Tandya  Maha  Brahmana  (addressed  to  the  victim  or 
member  of  the  victit..  about  to  be  cast  into  the  fire.) 

"Thou  art  the  annulment  of  sin  committed  by  the 
gods;  thou  art  the  annulment  of  sin  committed  by 
departed  ancestors;  thou  art  the  annulment  of  sin 
committed  by  men;  thou  art  the  annulment  of  sir 
committed  by  us!  Whatsoever  sin  we  have  com- 
mitted by  day  and  by  night,  of  that  thou  art  the 
annulment.  Whatsoever  sin  we  have  committed 
sleeping  or  waking,  of  that  thou  art  the  annulment ! 
Whatsoever  sin  we  have  committed  consciously  and 
unconsciously,  of  that  thou  art  the  annulment!  Of 
sin — of  sin,  thou  art  the  annulment !" 

Again  in  the  Taittiriya  Aranyaka,  "O  death !  thy 
thousand  million  snares  for  the  destruction  of  mortal 
men,  we  annul  them  all  by  the  mysterious  power  of 
sacrifice."  ''This  is  wonderful  enough,"  says  Dr. 
Clark,  "but  there  yet  remains  for  us  to  notice  the 
most  wonderful  idea  of  all;  so  wonderful,  as  has 
been  well  said,  that  it  is  a  still  greater  wonder  that  the 
Aryans,  having  once  obtained  it,  should  ever  have 
lost  it;  namely,  the  belief  that  the  greatest  instance 
of  sacrifice  is  that  God  has  sacrificed  Himself  for  His 
creatures.'  "    Thus  in  the  Shatapatha  Brahmina,  p. 

^9Z 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

836,  we  read,  "The  Lord  of  creatures  gave  Himself 
for  them,  for  He  became  their  sacrifice;"  again,  in 
the  Taittiriya  Aranyaka,  'They  slew  Purusha,  the 
victim — Purusha  who  was  born  from  the  beginning. 
Again,  in  the  Rig- Veda,  ''The  giver  of  Himself,  the 
giver  of  strength,  whose  shadow,  whose  death,  is  im- 
mortality." 

Dr.  Clark  closes  his  address  with  a  direct  appeal 
to  his  Arya  friends,  in  which  he  says : 

"The  great  work  of  redemption  is  indeed  done. 
God  has  suffered  for  the  salvation  of  men.  He 
humbled  Himself  to  death,  even  the  death  of  the 
cross.  He  has  died  the  just  for  the  unjust,  and  by 
the  sacrifice  of  Himself  has  put  away  forever  the 
sins  of  all  who  come  to  Him.  'Thou  shalt  call  His 
name  Jesus,  for  He  shall  save  His  people  from  their 
sins;'  through  His  death  life  eternal  is  now  freely 
offered  to  mankind,  for  as  the  Veda  said  long  ago, 
'His  shadow.  His  death,  is  immortality.'  Your  West- 
ern brethren  have  found  the  light  of  which  their  fore- 
fathers and  yours  spoke  so  long  ago.  It  is  their  priv- 
ilege now  to  bring  this  light  to  you,  the  brothers 
from  whom  they  departed  so  long  ago.  Would  that 
you  had  accepted  it  as  they  have  done,  for  it  is  truth. 
Would  that  you  had  realized  that  in  Christ  alone  is 
the  hope  of  India,  as  well  as  of  your  own  souls.  The 
virtue  of  this  sacrifice  of  God  has  saved  every  na- 
tion and  individual,  which  has  accepted  it,  and  it  can 
save  you  and  save  India.  Finally — be  Aryans,  not 
Buddhists;  escape  from  the  Buddhistic  fetters  of  two 

194 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

thousand  years  and  more,  and  fulfill  the  destinies, 
the  hopes,  of  your  Aryan  progenitors." 

This  argument  in  refutation,  followed  by  this 
warm-hearted  invitation  and  appeal,  furnishes  an  ex- 
ample of  admirable  missionary  tact.  As  the  early 
apostles  reasoned  with  the  Jews  out  of  their  own 
scriptures,  so  here.  As  the  wise  author  of  the  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews  built  up  his  argument  for  the  all- 
sufficient  sacrifice  of  Christ  upon  the  old  ritual  of 
the  Jews,  so  Dr.  Clark  urges  the  same  cross  of  Christ 
as  the  real  fulfillment  of  an  ancient  and  mysterious 
significance  of  Hindu  sacrifice.  It  is  very  easy  to 
say  that  the  missionary  should  know  only  the  one 
great  errand  of  preaching  the  story  of  the  Cross,  and 
not  w^aste  time  upon  heathen  literature  or  heathen 
systems,  but  this  achievement  of  Dr.  Clark  has  ac- 
complished more  in  the  struggle  with  educated  but 
persistent  Hinduism,  than  could  have  been  done  in 
any  other  way.  His  was  the  most  effective  way  of 
preaching  Christ. 


195 


PART   II 


The  chapters  which  follow  in  this  second  division 
relate  in  the  main  to  some  of  those  marked  interven- 
tions of  divine  Providence  which  have  opened  the 
way  for  the  advance  of  Christian  civilization  and 
the  more  positive  and  successful  proclamation  of  a 
pure  gospel  to  all  mankind.  It  seems  important  to 
recognize  the  fact  that  the  supreme  direction  and 
control  of  God's  spirit  is  as  real  and  as  active  in  the 
work  of  the  modern  church  as  it  was  in  the  time  of 
the  apostles.  The  faith  of  the  Church  in  the  final 
triumph  of  Christianity  would  be  strengthened  if  all 
were  to  feel  that  the  great  missionary  movements  of 
to-day  are  as  really  and  completely  a  part  of  the 
divine-plan  as  were  the  voyages  and  travels  of  Barna- 
bas and  Saul  of  the  shipwreck  off  the  coast  of  Malta ; 
and  that  the  settlement  and  civilization  of  the  West- 
ern Hemisphere  was  as  truly  providential  as  were 
the  conquests  of  Joshua  or  Cyrus,  or  the  opening  up 
of  Europe  by  the  armies  of  the  Roman  Empire. 


196 


NAPOLEONISM  IN  AMERICA 

The  establishment  of  the  Spanish-American  Re- 
pubHcs  and  the  great  expansion  of  the  RepubHc  of 
the  United  States  in  the  first  half  of  the  present  cen- 
tury, form  a  chapter  of  history  whose  startling  and 
romantic  character  has  never  been  excelled  in  truth 
or  fiction.  And  it  is  a  fact  very  worthy  of  note  that 
the  chief  actors  in  this  early  drama  builded  so  much 
better  than  they  knew,  accomplished  purposes  of 
which  they  never  dreamed,  overthrew  institutions 
and  systems  which  they  designed  to  strengthen  and 
perpetuate.  It  is  also  a  striking  coincidence  that  the 
country  which  has  been  specially  enhanced  in  world- 
wide influence  by  its  victories  in  the  late  war  with 
Spain  also  received  the  chief  aggrandizement  from 
the  events  of  the  early  decades  of  the  century.  The 
enemies  of  liberty  in  Europe  have  unconsciously 
proved  its  promoters  in  America;  the  advocates  of 
absolutism  have  laid  foundations  of  republics.  Surely 
''man  proposes  but  God  disposes."  Strange  as  it 
may  seem,  probably  no  man  has  exerted  a  greater  in- 
fluence in  promoting  the  development  of  liberty  and 
of  free  institutions  on  this  continent  than  the  first 
Napoleon,  then  First  Consul  of  France.     His  mo- 

197 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

tives  were  of  course  selfish.  He  aimed  only  at  his 
own  ambitious  schemes  and  the  overthrow  of  all  ene- 
mies and  all  rivals.  But  the  divine  Providence  had 
nobler  aims  which  he  was  to  accomplish.  After  at- 
taining autocratic  power  in  France,  he  set  about  re- 
gaining possession  of  those  territories  in  North 
America  known  under  the  comprehensive  name  of 
Louisiana,  and  which,  in  1763,  had  been  ceded  by 
Louis  XV  to  Spain.  And  having  succeeded  by  the 
treaty  of  Ildefonso  in  1800  in  regaining  the  territory 
which,  as  he  thought,  had  been  thrown  away,  he 
looked  upon  it  as  one  of  his  noblest  and  most  fondly 
cherished  acquisitions.  But  in  the  year  1803  Napo- 
leon found  himself  in  a  bitter  conflict  with  Great 
Britain;  and,  rightly  estimating  the  naval  power  of 
his  adversary,  with  which  he  could  not  cope,  he 
naturally  became  alarmed  for  the  security  of  his 
newly  acquired  American  territories.  On  the  loth 
day  of  April,  of  that  year,  which  happened  to  be 
Easter  Sunday,  he  returned  from  church  with  a  new 
idea — not  altogether  religious — which  had  struck 
him  with  such  force  that  it  at  once  became  a  purpose. 
He  immediately  sent  for  his  ministers,  to  whom  he 
communicated  the  fact  that  he  had  just  learned  that 
a  British  fleet  was  moving  toward  the  Gulf  of  Mex- 
ico, and  that  he  saw  at  once  hostile  designs  upon 
Louisiana.  He  ordered  them  to  call  Mr.  Robert  R. 
Livingston,  the  United  States  Minister,  for  a  consul- 
tation; indicating  at  the  same  time  that  he  was  re- 
solved, if  possible,  to  make  over  Louisiana  to  the 

198 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

United  States  in  order  to  thwart  the  schemes  of  the 
British  fleet. 

Meanwhile  great  uneasiness  had  arisen  through- 
out our  Western  states  bordering  on  the  Mississippi 
in  regard  to  the  insecurity  of  our  access  to  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico;  and  steps  had  been  taken  to  obtain  from 
France  a  treaty  by  which  the  left  bank  of  the  river, 
where  it  passes  through  Louisiana,  should  be  ceded 
to  the  United  States,  and  if  possible,  other  territory 
lying  eastward  on  the  Gulf.  Mr.  James  Monroe,  a 
special  envoy  sent  by  President  Jefferson  to  the 
Court  of  France  on  this  errand,  was  actually  on  his 
voyage  when  Napoleon's  scheme  of  transfer  was 
formed.  When,  therefore,  he  arrived  in  Paris  with 
only  a  hope  of  securing  a  limited  section  of  territory 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  and  possibly  Florida, 
to  w^hich  he  supposed  that  France  hacl  a  claim,  he 
learned  with  astonishment  and  delight  of  the  pro- 
posal to  make  over  to  the  United  States  the  whole  of 
Louisiana,  embracing  the  state  now  known  by  that 
name,  also  Texas,  Arkansas,  Indian  Territory,  Mis- 
souri, Kansas,  Nebraska,  Colorado  north  of  the  Ar- 
kansas, Wyoming,  Iowa,  Minnesota  west  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, and  Montana.  Without  waiting  for  consul- 
tation with  the  home  government,  our  minister,  Mr. 
Livingston,  and  the  special  envoy,  Mr.  Monroe, 
safely  counting  on  the  support  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  con- 
cluded a  treaty  with  France  on  April  30th,  by  which 
this  vast  claim  was  sold  to  the  United  States  for  fif- 
teen millions  of  dollars.    In  spite  of  the  bitter  par- 

199 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

tisan  criticism  which  Mr.  Jefferson's  administration 
had  aroused  by  this  prompt  and  vigorous  poHcy,  a 
special  session  of  Congress,  called  in  October  of  the 
same  year,  approved  the  treaty  and  empowered  the 
President  to  defend  the  newly  acquired  territory. 
The  importance  of  this  transaction,  as  bearing  upon 
the  subsequent  development  of  the  great  American 
Republic,  baffles  all  estimate.  Napoleon,  who  cer- 
tainly had  no  partiality  for  democratic  institutions, 
but  represented  European  absolutism  in  its  worst  and 
most  uncompromising  form,  had  become  an  instru- 
ment in  the  hands  of  Providence  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  great  ends.  It  would  be  difficult  to  conceive 
of  any  combination  of  circumstances,  or  any  other 
succession  of  events,  which  could  have  placed  Louisi- 
ana in  the  possession  of  the  United  States.  And  if 
not  then,  and  by  such  extraordinary  means,  when 
and  how  could  our  Government  have  ever  hoped  to 
secure  it  ?  Great  Britain,  having  a  few  years  before 
lost  her  Atlantic  colonies,  and  having  at  the  same 
time  been  compelled  to  cede  Florida  and  other  Gulf 
state  possessions  back  to  Spain,  would  have  been 
slow  to  relinquish  her  control  of  this  Western  fron- 
tier, and  our  country  would  have  been  hemmed  in 
between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Mississippi  River,  in- 
stead of  widening  out  into  that  amplitude  which  was 
now  extended  to  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Had  the 
motive  of  Napoleon  been  disinterested,  the  United 
States  would  have  owed  him  a  debt  of  gratitude  sec- 
ond only  to  that  accorded  to  Washington;   and  his 

300 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

monument  might  justly  be  reared  in  the  capitals  of 
our  Western  states.  This  fortunate  purchase  of 
Louisiana  led  ultimately  to  still  further  acquisitions, 
as  will  be  seen  further  on. 

Meanwhile  the  southern  portions  of  this  hemis- 
phere became  no  less  indebted  to  Napoleon  than  were 
the  United  States,  though  they  had  even  less  reason 
to  be  grateful  for  his  interposition.  When  in  1808, 
or  five  years  after  the  cession  of  Louisiana,  Napo- 
leon, flushed  with  many  victories,  and  bent  upon  es- 
tablishing his  influence,  and  building  up  his  great 
name  in  the  conquered  kingdoms  of  Europe,  deposed 
Ferdinand  VII  of  Spain,  and  placed  one  of  his  own 
brothers  on  the  throne,  he  unconsciously  struck  a 
blow  for  American  liberty,  the  far-reaching  influence 
of  which  entitles  it  to  a  place  among  the  greatest 
events  of  history.  The  colonies  of  southern  Amer- 
ica had  long  felt  the  oppression  of  the  Spanish 
power,  and  would  long  before  have  rebelled  against 
it  but  for  the  prestige  and  romance  of  the  Castilian 
dynasty.  Not  only  had  the  aboriginal  populations 
been  crushed,  and  in  many  places  well  nigh  des- 
troyed, by  the  cruel  oppression  visited  upon  them  by 
the  followers  of  Cortez  in  Mexico,  and  of  the  more 
blood-thirsty  Pizzaro  and  Alvarado  in  Peru,  but  the 
colonists  themselves  had  found  all  enterprise  par- 
alyzed by  the  rapacity  of  the  home  government  and 
its  local  representatives.  Yet  decade  after  decade, 
and  even  century  after  century,  had  they  endured 
these  wrongs,  as  Cuba  has  endured  them  until  now. 

201 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

But  when  they  saw  a  Bonaparte  estabhshed  in  power, 
the  old  tie  was  broken.  Napoleon's  bold  and  strategic 
act  became  the  signal  for  revolt. 

Within  two  years  a  revolutionary  movement,  de- 
claring independence  of  the  power  of  Spain,  was  be- 
gun in  Mexico,  a  Catholic  priest,  named  Hidalgo  y 
Costilla  taking  the  lead.  He  also  wrought  better 
than  he  knew ;  for  while  he  only  sought  deliverance 
from  Spain,  he  little  imagined  that  he  was  setting 
forces  at  work  which  w^ould  ultimately  break  the 
tyranny  of  Rome.  He  was  a  man  of  great  sincerity 
and  moral  courage,  as  well  as  of  intense  patriotism ; 
and  although  he  did  not  personally  succeed  in  the 
revolutionary  movement  which  he  inaugurated,  yet 
the  influences  which  he  set  on  foot  proved  indestruc- 
tible, and  were  finally  crowned  with  complete  suc- 
cess. 

Meanwhile  the  influence  of  Napoleon's  policy  in 
Spain  had  affected  not  only  Mexico  but  all  the  Span- 
ish-American states.  Revolutionary  movements  be- 
gan in  Venezuela  as  early  as  i8i  i,  and  Chili  declared 
her  independence  in  1817.  Other  states,  Bolivia, 
Ecuador,  Colombia,  Venezuela,  Paraguay,  Uruguay, 
and  the  Argentine  Republic,  followed  this  lead,  until 
by  the  year  1828  all  the  states  of  South  America,  ex- 
cept the  Guianas  and  the  Portuguese  dominion  of 
Brazil  had  become  republics.  Even  Brazil,  feeling 
the  general  impulse,  became  independent  of  Portugal, 
and  established,  as  a  compromise,  a  constitutional 
monarchy.    The  little  states  of  Central  America  also 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

joined  in  this  general  movement,  and  in  less  than  two 
decades  the  power  of  Spain  had  been  swept  from  the 
American  continent. 

The  government  of  Brazil  continued  for  a  half 
century  to  be  a  liberal  monarchy,  and  guaranteed  to 
the  people  a  fair  equivalent  for  the  advantages  of  a 
republican  form  of  administration.  But  in  the  end, 
notwithstanding  the  generous  sagacity  of  Dom  Pe- 
dro II,  Brazil  has  also  yielded  to  the  general  trend  of 
American  sentiment,  and  has  become  a  republic.  Not 
only  the  United  States,  therefore,  but  Mexico,  and 
Central  and  South  America,  may  all  join  in  recog- 
nizing the  greatness  of  that  service  which  the  would- 
be  conqueror  of  Europe  and  the  world,  unconsciously 
wrought  for  the  Western  Hemisphere.  In  this  wide- 
spread movement,  the  fact  is  not  to  be  lost  sight  of 
that  the  early  example  and  success  of  the  United 
States  exerted  a  great  and  constant  influence.  Wash- 
ington, by  his  refusal  of  a  scepter,  had  laid  the  cor- 
nerstone of  free  government,  and  Victoria  in  Mex- 
ico, and  Bolivar  and  others  in  South  America,  ex- 
tended its  boundaries;  but  Napoleon's  influence,  if 
not  commendable,  had  been  a  useful,  indeed  an  in- 
dispensable, factor.  He  had  prepared  the  way  for 
our  Monroe  Doctrine,  and  had  left  his  mark  upon  the 
whole  nineteenth  century  civilization  of  America. 

Let  us  now  trace  some  further  results  of  Napo- 
leon's transfer  of  Louisiana  in  the  development  of 
our  coast  lines.  While  the  power  of  Spain  was  be- 
ing resisted  in  Mexico  and  South  America,  she  still 

203 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

retained  her  claim  to  certain  territories  on  the  north 
and  east  coasts  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  But  in  the 
year  1819,  the  United  States  secured  this  claim,  in- 
cluding Florida,  and  a  strip  of  territory  stretching 
across  the  southern  ends  of  Mississippi  and  Ala- 
bama, together  with  the  alleged  Spanish  claims 
to  territory  on  the  Columbia  river,  in  exchange  for 
Texas,  which  was  a  part  of  the  Louisiana  purchase. 
The  value  of  this  exchange,  in  securing  to  the  United 
States  free  access  to  the  Gulf,  was  great  and  imme- 
diate; the  advantages  accruing  on  the  Pacific  coast 
were  deferred  for  nearly  three  decades. 

Within  two  years  after  the  exchange  of  Texas  for 
Florida,  Mexico,  including  Texas,  was  lost  to  the 
Spanish  power  by  revolution,  as  stated  above,  and 
in  1824,  upon  the  establishment  of  a  republican  gov- 
ernment, Texas  became  one  of  the  federal  states 
of  the  Mexican  Union. 

Following  the  chronological  order  of  events,  we 
turn  next  to  those  territories  on  the  North  Pacific 
coast  which  Spain  had  included  in  her  exchange  for 
Texas.  Our  claim  was  disputed  by  Great  Britain,  or 
rather  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  which  desired 
to  retain  the  valley  of  the  Columbia  as  a  preserve  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  fur  trade.  In  18 10,  John 
Jacob  Astor,  and  other  citizens  of  the  United  States, 
had  established  a  trading  station  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia;  but  in  the  war  of  1812-1815,  between  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain,  the  station  was 
broken  up,  and  for  many  years  the  question  of  own- 

204 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

ership  seemed  to  be  contested  chiefly  by  rival  fur 
trading  companies.  Although  the  United  States  had 
an  original  claim  of  her  own  besides  the  title  ob- 
tained from  Spain,  yet  it  seemed  doubtful  whether 
the  North  Pacific  coast,  cut  off  as  it  was  by  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  was  of  sufficient  importance  to 
the  United  States  to  be  worth  any  serious  contention 
with  other  powers.  This  doubt,  however,  had  be- 
gun to  be  dissipated  by  a  few  Protestant  mission- 
aries. Dr.  Marcus  Vliitman  and  others,  who  had 
revealed  to  the  people  of  the  Atlantic  states  the  value 
and  the  possibilities  of  the  North  Pacific  slope. 

By  the  year  1842,  the  issue  between  the  agents  of 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Fur  Company  and  the  scattered 
American  immigrants  in  Oregon  had  become  acute. 
And  in  October  of  that  year  Dr.  Whitman,  having  by 
accident  learned  that  plans  were  on  foot  to  secure  a 
large  immigration  of  European  and  Canadian  col- 
onists, who  by  actual  residence  should  decide  the 
destiny  of  the  country,  started  from  his  missionary 
station  in  Oregon,  with  a  single  companion,  to  cross 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  and,  if  possible,  secure  a  large 
company  of  American  settlers.  At  the  same  time  he 
hoped  to  dissuade  the  United  States  Government 
from  ratifying  certain  proposed  treaties  which  for  a 
very  inadequate  consideration  would  surrender  Ore- 
gon to  Great  Britain.  This  perilous  winter  journey 
was  successfully  made,  and  Dr.  Whitman,  by  con- 
ducting a  colony  of  nearly  a  thousand  persons  across 
the  mountains  in   1843,   proved  the  possibility  of 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

overland  migration,  and  settled  the  destiny  of  Ore- 
gon and  Washington.  The  exchange  of  Texas  for 
Florida  and  the  North  Pacific  coast,  had  thus  se- 
cured the  permanent  settlement  of  two,  or  including 
Idaho,  three,  great  Pacific  states. 

By  the  next  year,  1844,  Texas,  which  after  declar- 
ing her  independence  had  attracted  many  American 
immigrants,  was  on  her  application,  received  into  the 
Union  of  the  United  States.  Thereupon  Mexico, 
which  had  never  acknowledged  her  independence, 
declared  war  against  the  United  States,  and  the  con- 
flict known  as  the  Mexican  War  began.  This  ended 
disastrously  for  Mexico,  which,  after  a  struggle  of 
four  years,  not  only  gave  up  Texas,  but  by  the  treaty 
of  Guadeloupe  Hidalgo  in  1848,  ceded  New  Mex- 
ico, Arizona,  and  part  of  Nevada,  and  relinquished 
California. 

The  results  of  Napoleon's  transfer  of  Louisiana 
in  1803,  and  those  springing  from  the  dethronement 
of  the  King  of  Spain  in  1808,  and  the  exchange  of 
territory  in  18 19,  had  united  in  the  aggrandisement 
of  the  United  States ;  in  the  one  case  directly,  in  the 
others  indirectly.  They  had  made  the  country  one 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  and  from  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico  to  the  St.  Lawrence  and  British  Colum- 
bia. 

But  out  of  these  great  movements,  religious  as 
well  as  political  consequences  were  to  spring.  All 
along  the  line  of  contact  and  conflict  there  emerged 
the  question  whether  Protestantism  or  Romanism 

206 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

should  prevail.  As  a  rule,  the  priests  of  Rome  were 
on  the  side  of  foreign  occupation  and  foreign  in- 
fluence as  against  Americans  and  American  institu- 
tions. In  Oregon  and  Washington  French  ecclesias- 
tics combined  with  British  fur  traders  to  keep  out 
American  settlers  and  to  suppress  Protestant  mis- 
sions. The  fur  traders  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany desired  to  retard  civilization  and  preserve  the 
forests  for  fur-bearing  animals  and  Indian  trappers ; 
and  the  Catholics  seemed  ready  for  any  alliance 
w^hich  should  supplant  the  Protestant  missions  and 
secure  ecclesiastical  control.  It  was  this  union  of  in- 
fluences which  stimulated  Indian  hostility  to  Dr. 
Whitman  and  his  colonists,  and  led  to  the  bloody 
massacre  at  ^^^aiilatpu  in  1847.  After  half  a  century 
of  misrepresentation  on  the  part  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  church,  the  verdict  of  history  lays  a  heavy 
weight  of  responsibility  at  the  door  of  those  Catholic 
fathers  who  had  fostered  the  superstition  and  the 
hostility  of  the  Indians. 

In  California,  at  the  same  time,  efforts  were  be- 
ing made  to  supplant  the  American  settlers  by  a 
large  immigration  from  Ireland.  In  the  Records  of 
the  Thirtieth  Congress,  ist  Session,  under  ''Report 
of  Senate  Committee  on  Military  Affairs,"  will  be 
found  an  official  record,  based  on  sworn  testimony, 
taken  in  1848,  of  an  attempt,  just  at  the  opening  of 
our  war  with  Mexico,  to  forestall  an  American  occu- 
pation by  settling  in  the  Sacramento  valley  a  colony 
of  three  thousand  families  of  Irish  Catholics.     It 

207 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

was  thought  that  these,  as  subjects  of  Her  Majesty's 
Government,  could  claim  British  protection;  for, 
pending  our  war  with  Mexico,  California  was  still 
supposed  to  be  Mexican  territory.  As  such,  it  was 
under  the  military  command  of  General  Castro,  at 
whose  instance  plans  had  been  formed  for  an  attack 
by  Mexicans  and  Indians  upon  the  American  settle- 
ments. As  a  reinforcement  of  his  corps  of  civil  en- 
gineers. Captain  John  C.  Fremont  rallied  the  Ameri- 
can volunteers,  and  acting  in  conjunction  with  Com- 
modore Sloat  and  Commodore  Stockton  of  the  U. 
S.  Navy,  helped  to  extend  the  United  States  flag 
over  all  California.  Documents  secured  by  Fremont 
showed  that  a  Catholic  priest,  named  McNamara, 
had  entered  into  negotiations  with  the  President  of 
the  Mexican  Republic  for  a  grant  of  vast  tracts  of 
bnd  in  the  valley  of  the  Sacramento  for  his  Irish 
immigrants.  His  plea,  in  his  letter  to  the  president, 
was  that  ''only  thus  could  the  country  be  saved  from 
the  American  Methodists."  The  prompt  and  suc- 
cessful operations  of  the  United  States  land  and  sea 
forces  thwarted  this  enterprise,  the  number  of  Amer- 
ican settlers  increased,  the  treaty  of  peace  of  Guade- 
loupe Hidalgo  followed  in  due  time,  and  one  year 
later,  1849,  ^^"^^  S^^^  discoveries  brought  a  flood  tide 
of  immigration,  and  the  destiny  of  California  as  an 
American  and  Protestant  commonwealth  was  sealed. 
By  a  concatenation  of  events,  little  foreseen  by  those 
who  projected  them,  all  may  be  traced  back  to  a 
primal    connection    with    Napoleon's    transfer    of 

208 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

Louisiana  to  the  United  States  in  1808.  But  for  his 
prompt  and  decisive  act,  this  remarkable  chapter  in 
our  history  could  never  have  been  written. 

The  war  of  the  United  States  with  Mexico  mean- 
while became  a  plowshare  to  prepare  her  soil  for  the 
seeds  of  moral  and  intellectual  freedom.  Bibles  fol- 
lowed General  Scott's  army  into  Mexico.  The  cen- 
tury-long repression  which  Romanism  had  en- 
trenched in  the  very  constitution  of  the  republic  be- 
gan to  break  and  yield.  The  vastly  superior  power 
of  the  United  States  raised  a  question  in  the  minds 
of  the  people  as  to  the  cause  of  that  superiority.  The 
liberal  party  in  the  state  became  tired  of  the  stagna- 
tion imposed  by  priestly  domination,  and  were  rest- 
less and  ready  for  light.  The  new,  and  hitherto  un- 
known, Word  of  God  was  found  to  be  a  revelation 
indeed,  and  in  little  hamlets,  where  this  precious 
volume  had  escaped  the  vigilance  of  the  priesthood, 
the  people  began  to  read  and  pray  in  secret  groups 
and  conventicles. 

But  now  a  new  chapter  of  Napoleonism  in  Amer- 
ica was  opened.  Another  monarch  of  the  name  was 
on  the  throne  of  France,  and,  flushed  with  the  suc- 
cess of  his  Franco- Austrian  War  in  Italy,  he  too,  like 
his  uncle,  aspired  to  be  a  dispenser  of  thrones  and  a 
former  of  dynasties.  In  1862-63  he  had  published 
a  book  entitled  Idees  Napoliennes,  and  he  must 
needs  exploit  those  ''idees. "  The  first  Napoleon  had 
given  a  sovereign  to  Spain ;  the  nephew  would  now 
give  one  to  Mexico.     The  time  seemed  opportune; 

209 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

Mexico  was  embarrassed  by  intestine  rivalries  and 
dissensions ;  the  great  Republic  on  her  northern  bor- 
der, her  natural  ally  and  protector,  was  in  the  throes 
of  a  desperate  civil  war.  It  seemed  possible  to  put  an 
end  to  the  assumptions  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  and 
establish  an  empire  in  the  very  midst  of  the  boasted 
republics  of  the  West. 

I  will  not  stop  here  to  rehearse  the  details  of  that 
ill-starred  scheme  which  took  the  Austrian  Prince 
Maximilian  and  his  young  wife  from  their  happy 
home  at  Miramar  on  the  Adriatic,  and  placed  them 
on  a  perilous  throne  in  Mexico.  It  is  sufficient  to  say 
that  without  the  defense  and  support  of  the  French 
invading  army  they  were  not  safe  for  a  single  day. 
Instead  of  the  welcome  which  they  had  been  led  to 
expect,  they  found  sullen  resistance. 

In  the  prosecution  of  this  deeplaid  scheme  the  re- 
actionary or  church  party,  like  the  Catholics  in 
Oregon  and  California,  cast  their  influence  on  the 
side  of  foreign  occupation  and  foreign  institutions. 
They  aided  the  French  Emperor  by  sending  a  depu- 
tation to  persuade  Maximilian  to  take  the  scepter  of 
their  country  and  put  down  the  republic.  All  this 
precipitated  the  liberation  of  Mexico  from  Papal 
domination.  It  accentuated  the  issue  between  abso- 
lutism and  the  hierarchy  on  the  one  hand,  and 
strengthened  the  cause  of  patriotism  and  religious 
freedom  on  the  other.  It  identified  love  of  country 
with  toleration;  it  broke  the  long  and  paralyzing 
spell  that  had  rested  upon  the  people.    When  Presi- 

2IO 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

dent  Juarez  returned  to  power,  and  republican  gov- 
ernment was  re-established,  some  of  the  first  enact- 
ments were  those  which  struck  out  of  the  constitu- 
tion the  clause  which  prohibited  all  religious  wor- 
ship except  that  of  the  "Holy  Catholic  Apostolic 
Church,"  and  gave  full  religious  freedom  to  all 
classes  and  all  creeds. 

Still  later  consequences  of  the  Napoleonic  influ- 
ence in  the  Western  Hemisphere  might  be  traced.  It 
has  been  said  that  God's  purposes,  humanly  speak- 
ing, are  never  completed;  they  are  always  being  ful- 
filled, and  will  continue  to  be  fulfilled  with  broader 
and  ever  broader  scope  till  the  end  of  time.  In  this 
view  the  history  of  great  movements  in  the  world  is 
an  ever  unfolding  history. 

Applying  this  principle  in  the  case  before  us  it  is 
quite  safe  to  say  that  Alaska  would  never  have  be- 
come a  part  of  the  United  States  but  for  that  series 
of  historic  events  which  we  have  considered.  It  is 
doubtful  whether  Commodore  Perry  would  have 
been  sent  to  Japan  to  gain  an  entrance  and  an  inter- 
national footing  there,  but  for  the  prospective  com- 
mercial demands  of  our  Pacific  coast.  The  least  that 
canbesaid,  is,  that  the  appearance  of  our  flag  and  our 
American  institutions  upon  that  coast  changed  every- 
thing in  our  relations  to  Asiatic  nations.  It  is  cer- 
tain that  Hawaii  would  not  have  been  annexed  but 
for  the  close  bonds,  commercial,  social,  and  religi- 
ous, which  have  sprung  up  between  Honolulu  and 


211 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

San  Francisco,  and  the  peoples  respectively  whom 
they  represented. 

Last  of  all,  or  at  least  up  to  date,  is  the  further 
opening  of  new  spheres  to  the  influence  of  the  United 
States  in  the  China  seas.  Whatever  may  be  the  final 
relations  established  between  the  United  States  and 
the  Philippines,  there  are  at  least  strong  indications 
that  a  new  and  momentous  chapter  of  our  national 
history  has  been  opened.  The  Christian  church  is 
not  charged  with  the  functions  or  obligations  of  di- 
plomacy, but  wherever  diplomacy  or  the  rude  shock 
of  war  has  presented  an  open  door  and  brought 
within  the  reach  of  her  influence  depressed  and  be- 
nighted races,  there  the  duty  of  the  Christian  church 
is  clear. 


212 


THE  REGENERATION  OF  MEXICO 

The  stirring  events  of  the  summer  of  1898  by 
which  several  colonial  possessions  of  Spain  have 
been  rescued  from  her  tyranny,  naturally  lead  the 
mind  back  to  the  beginning  of  Spanish-American 
independence.  As  stated  in  the  previous  chapter,  the 
first  to  strike  a  blow  for  freedom  from  the  power 
of  Spain  was  Mexico.  Her  heroic  example  inspired 
all  the  Central  and  South  American  colonies  with  a 
deathless  resolve  to  break  away  from  an  exacting 
foreign  dominion. 

Even  at  the  risk  of  a  second  reference  to  some 
historic  events  which  have  already  been  alluded  to 
briefly,  I  shall  here  make  a  wider  and  more  specific 
illustration  of  their  influence  upon  Mexico. 

The  history  of  Mexico  from  the  year  18 10  to  the 
present  time  would  doubtless  throw  some  light  upon 
the  problems  which  now  concern  the  Antilles  and 
the  Philippines.  One  important  lesson  to  be  learned 
is  that  even  after  freedom  from  oppression  has 
been  achieved  a  great  work  remains  to  be  done. 
Where  Spanish  colonial  government  in  league 
with  the  Romish  hierarchy  has  borne  sway  for  centu- 

213 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

ries,  free  civil  and  religious  institutions  cannot  be 
established  in  a  day. 

Within  the  last  thirty-five  years  a  greatly  in- 
creased interest  has  been  felt  in  the  Mexican  Republic 
from  the  fact  that  in  that  period  it  has  been  com- 
pelled to  gain  its  liberty,  both  civil  and  religious,  a 
second  time.  That  country  though  so  near  has  been 
less  known  to  us  than  many  others,  and  an  intelli- 
gent missionary  interest  in  it  will  be  promoted  by  a 
reference  to  some  of  those  striking  interpositions  of 
Providence  which  have  brought  it  to  its  present  con- 
dition. 

While  Mexico  had  a  full  century  the  start  of  our 
Republic  in  the  introduction  of  European  civiliza- 
tion and  the  knowledge  of  the  Christian  faith,  she 
has  until  recent  years  remained  almost  at  a  stand- 
still in  comparison  with  our  progress.  And  the  dif- 
ference is  to  be  traced  not  to  any  inferiority  of  soil 
or  climate,  for  in  their  earlier  civilizations  her  Tol- 
tecs  and  Aztecs  were  in  advance  of  the  Pequots  or 
the  Iroquois;  not  to  any  lack  of  vigor  or  aggressive 
enterprise  in  the  power  by  which  the  country  was 
conquered,  for  the  Empire  of  Charles  V  of  Spain, 
was  peerless  in  that  age;  but  in  one  word,  the  Bible 
has  been  the  differential  that  has  wrought  this  con- 
trast. The  free  use  of  the  Word  of  God,  liberty  of 
conscience,  the  sacredness  of  the  family,  schools,  and 
colleges,  the  press,  and  general  enlightenment — 
these  have  been  our  heritage;  while  Mexico,  with  a 
crucifix  instead  of  the  Scriptures,  and  ceremonies  for 

214 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

instruction,  and  festivals  and  bull-fights  instead  of 
Sabbaths — with  foreign  viceroys  rather  than  citizen 
rulers,  and  a  colonial  policy  which  robbed  the  coun- 
try instead  of  improving  it — how  could  she  keep  pace 
with  the  general  march  of  human  advancement? 

Yet  the  question  arises,  How  has  it  happened  that 
Mexico  and  all  the  states  south  of  her  are  republics  ? 
This  was  no  part  of  the  plans  of  their  conquerors. 
All  the  liberties  that  have  been  achieved  on  this  con- 
tinent, even  including  our  own,  have  been  brought 
about  by  reaction  against  foreign  oppression.  And 
there  is  something,  therefore,  in  our  common  history 
which  should  unite  us  in  sympathy  with  these  kin- 
dred nations.  We  have  here  a  hemisphere  of  repub- 
lics. The  west  coast  from  Behring's  strait  to  Pata- 
gonia, save  the  narrow  outcropping  of  British  Co- 
lumbia, is  wholly  under  republican  institutions. 
Those  oldest  of  nations  across  the  Pacific,  with  their 
conservative  laws  and  customs,  are  here  confronted 
by  the  most  recent  and  most  aggressive  forms  of 
government. 

There  are  several  reasons  why  we  should  cherish 
a  deep  interest  in  Mexico.  For  fifteen  hundred  miles 
the  two  republics  have  a  common  boundary  line. 
Railroads  already  bind  us  in  the  bonds  of  commer- 
cial union.  Our  social  and  religious  influences  will 
be  more  or  less  blended  together;  and  as  some  one 
has  said,  we  may  as  well  raise  thistles  ourselves  as 
to  have  them  stock  the  farms  of  our  neighbors.    We 


215 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

must  cherish  an  interest  in  Mexico  or  suffer  for  our 
neglect. 

The  country  presents  a  rather  singular  configura- 
tion. On  the  map  it  lies  in  the  form  of  a  cornucopia ; 
and  very  significantly,  our  more  favored  land  lies  in 
exactly  the  position  to  fill  it.  Mexico  has  an  im- 
mense stretch  of  sea-coast,  though  it  is  without  good 
harbors,  and  has  no  navigable  rivers.  It  is  verte- 
brated  with  an  immense  mountain  range,  more  or 
less  dissevered  into  branches  or  spurs;  and  the  high 
valleys  which  lie  between  these  spurs  have  the  ap- 
pearance of  being  partially  filled  up  with  the  detritus 
of  the  mountains,  thus  forming  elevated  plateaus  of 
vast  extent.  Years  ago  Humboldt  called  attention 
to  a  fact  which  is  now  being  recognized  by  our  rail- 
road projectors,  that  throughout  the  whole  distance 
from  Santa  Fe  in  New  Mexico  to  the  old  Aztec  capi- 
tal, there  is  a  natural  grade  for  great  highways  of 
commercial  intercourse.  Along  this  plateau  the 
ancient  Indian  civilizations  drifted  southward,  and 
along  this  plateau  we  foresee  the  grander  tides  of  an 
international  commerce.  And  along  this  plateau  we 
must  plant  our  schools  and  churches — home  mis- 
sions on  this  side  of  the  boundary,  and  foreign  mis- 
sions on  the  other,  face  to  face  and  hand  in  hand. 

In  your  approach  to  Vera  Cruz  from  the  sea  you 
already  behold  the  distant  snow  peaks  on  a  clear  day, 
and  if  the  dingy  old  castle  of  San  Juan  d'Ulloa  and 
the  fever-stricken  city  fail  to  interest,  you  will  take 
a  night  train  on  an  English-built  railroad,  and  will 

216 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

pass  rapidly  over  the  Terra  Caliente,  whose  giant 
forests  are  festooned  with  flowering  parasites  and 
whose  jungles  are  literally  packed  with  masses  of 
perennial  vendure.  At  daybreak  your  train  is  slowly 
climbing  the  mountains;  and  as  you  throw  open 
the  car-windows,  you  feel  that  you  have  attained 
your  ideal  of  climate.  Such  mountain  towns  as  Cor- 
dova enjoy  the  perfection  of  soft  breezes  and  mel- 
low-tinted skies,  with  luxuriant  growths  of  every 
kind  of  fruit  and  flowers.  Reaching  the  high  passes 
of  the  Cordilleras,  you  are  confronted  by  snow- 
capped Orizaba,  which  Bayard  Taylor  has  pro- 
nounced absolutely  peerless  among  isolated  and  dis- 
tinct mountain  peaks.  As  to  the  railroad,  in  its  giddy 
precipices  and  intricate  gorges,  in  the  consum- 
mate skill  of  the  engineers,  whose  iron  bridges  and 
trestlework  seem  graceful  as  spiders'  webs,  and  yet 
so  firm  as  to  be  without  a  jar,  it  excels  in  magnifi- 
cence even  the  pass  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  on  our 
California  route. 

At  length  you  have  reached  the  great  central  pla- 
teau of  Mexico,  ranging  from  5,000  to  8,000  feet 
above  the  sea.  Less  than  thirty  years  ago  as  one 
stopped  for  breakfast  at  Esperanza,  and  took  a  sur- 
vey of  his  train,  he  was  struck  with  the  fact  that  one 
car  was  loaded  with  soldiers  to  guard  the  passengers 
and  baggage  from  robbers.  And  lest  these  should  be 
insufficient,  five  or  six  mounted  policemen  were  on 
guard  at  some  of  the  stations.  As  late  as  1879  such 
escorts  were  common.   And  yet  what  wonder  at  the 

217 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

brigandage  when  we  look  back  at  three  and  a  half 
centuries  of  oppression  and  misrule?  Doubtless  it 
has  been  no  easy  task  to  rid  the  country  of  outlaws; 
for  of  all  places  in  the  world,  these  mountain  ranges, 
cut  and  furrowed  with  canons  and  barrancas,  are 
just  the  theatre  required;  and  if  there  is  a  race  pre- 
cisely adapted  to  the  business,  it  is  the  cross  between 
the  Spaniard  and  the  Indian,  when  left  to  ignorance 
and  oppression. 

But  this  is  only  one  side  of  the  Mexican  people. 
They  have  noble  elements  of  character.  What  the 
old  Aztecs  were  of  yore,  they  are,  to  some  extent, 
to-day.  There  is  still  a  vigor  in  the  Indians  of 
Mexico  which  cannot  be  found  in  any  of  the  aborig- 
inal tribes  of  our  country.  The  race  is  not  waning 
there,  but  on  the  increase.  The  Aztecs  had  been  in 
the  valley  of  Mexico  only  two  centuries  when  the 
Spaniards  came;  but  they  had  succeeded  to  the 
higher  civilization  of  the  Toltecs,  who  had  been  there 
four  centuries  before  them. 

They  were  originally  a  warlike  race;  and,  like  the 
Lombards  in  the  Roman  Empire,  they  took  on  the 
culture  of  the  vanquished  peoples;  and  as  the  Vene- 
tians, who,  when  driven  by  northern  barbarians  into 
the  Adriatic,  built  upon  the  very  lagoons  and 
marshes  a  mighty  dominion — more  invincible  be- 
cause built  upon  the  marshes,  so  the  Aztecs,  harassed 
at  first  by  other  tribes,  took  refuge  upon  a  small  is- 
land in  the  shallow  Lake  Tezcuco.  This,  gradually 
enlarged  by  driven  piles  and  the  dredging  of  their 

218 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

canals,  became  the  impregnable  stronghold,  from 
which  they  at  length  dictated  terms  to  all  their  neigh- 
bors, till  they  had  built  up  a  great  empire,  extending 
from  sea  to  sea. 

At  the  time  of  the  Spanish  Conquest  this  little  island 
had  become  another  Venice,  intersected  by  numerous 
canals,  having  300,000  inhabitants,  and  subsidizing 
the  best  civilization  of  all  the  tribes  of  Anahuac. 
And  but  for  the  one  sanguinary  blot  of  their  human 
sacrifices,  we  should  think  of  the  Aztecs  with  won- 
der and  admiration.  I  cannot  pause  to  speak  of  their 
early  industries  and  skill,  their  agriculture  and  in- 
genious floating  gardens,  their  jewelry  and  feather- 
work,  their  aqueducts  and  architecture,  their  chro- 
nology and  their  marvelous  calendar,  whose  inter- 
calations quite  equaled  our  own  in  accuracy,  their 
picture  language  and  poetry,  their  humane  laws  and 
local  courts,  their  kindness  toward  women,  and  their 
hospitals  for  their  wounded  soldiers;  and  I  only  al- 
lude to  them  to  show  that  after  all  the  long  history 
of  bondage,  many  of  these  elements  still  remain  to 
challenge  our  interest  and  stimulate  our  efforts  in 
their  behalf.  They  still  evince  much  skill  in  feather- 
work  and  jewelry :  they  are  still  lovers  of  gardening 
and  flowers.  Nearly  all  the  agriculture  of  the  coun- 
try is  in  Indian  hands.  It  seems  a  little  odd  as  you 
pass  through  the  villages  to  see  Indians,  not  with 
bows  and  arrows  and  rusty  muskets,  but  with  spades 
and  mattocks;  not  lounging  around  frontier  hotels 
in  quest  of  whiskey,  but  laboring  in  the  fields;  not 

219 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

compelling  their  wives  to  bear  the  chief  burdens, 
while  they  stalk  in  lordly  indolence,  but  rather  tak- 
ing these  burdens  upon  themselves,  while  the  women 
gather  the  fruits  or  make  coarse  fabrics  for  their 
households.  We  cannot  help  feeling  a  profound  re- 
spect for  the  Mexican  Indian  tribes,  some  of  whom 
have  so  steadily  resisted  Spanish  influence  that  they 
still  speak  their  own  Indian  tongue.  There  are 
whole  villages  of  Indians,  who,  in  spite  of  priestly 
threats  and  even  mob  violence,  listen  with  eagerness 
to  the  Word  of  God. 

One  is  sometimes  surprised  to  find  those  whose 
ideas  of  the  modern  Aztecs  are  taken  from  a  couple 
of  dwarfs  whom  some  showman  exhibited  years  ago. 
At  the  capital  there  are  full-blooded  Indians,  who  are 
numbered  among  the  leading  citizens.  If  the  ques- 
tion be  raised,  therefore,  as  it  has  been,  whether  the 
Indian  population  of  Mexico  are  worthy  of  our 
Christian  effort,  whether  they  are  capable  of  being 
raised  to  a  high  civilization,  I  answer  decidedly,  yes. 
Few  other  races,  after  such  a  history  of  oppression 
and  repression,  would  have  preserved  so  much  vital- 
ity. 

Thirty  years  ago  there  was  a  prominent  Aztec 
lawyer  in  the  Mexican  capital  who  had  taken  great 
interest  in  tracing  the  distinct  lines  of  his  race  in 
several  villages  of  the  republic,  and  I  have  seen  a 
part  of  the  New  Testament,  translated  into  the  orig- 
inal Aztec  language,  which  had  been  supplied  with 
an  alphabet  by  the  Spaniards.     The  chief  lady  of 

220 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

honor  in  the  court  of  the  Empress  Carlotta  was  a 
Hneal  descendant  of  Montezuma,  and  a  lad}^  of  so 
much  culture  and  grace  of  character  as  to  have  been 
the  favorite  of  the  palace.  I  shall  have  further  oc- 
casion to  speak  of  some  specimens  of  these  native 
tribes  in  referring  to  those  thrilling  events  which 
were  connected  with  the  achievement  of  political  lib- 
erty. 

As  to  religious  freedom  in  Mexico,  and  the  readi- 
ness with  which  she  now  stretches  forth  her  hands 
to  receive  our  civilization  and  our  Protestant  Chris- 
tianity, I  will  only  say  that  on  a  voyage  to  Vera 
Cruz  by  way  of  Havana,  I  found  in  a  fellow-traveler, 
one  of  the  leaders  who  restored  the  republic  in  1867. 
And  I  was  surprised  at  the  statement  made  by  him, 
that  while  he  was  a  Catholic,  and  hoped  to  die  in  the 
Catholic  faith,  he  would  gladly  see  two  Protestant 
churches  in  Mexico  for  every  Catholic  church,  and 
that  for  the  reason  that  it  would  not  only  promote 
the  general  interests  of  the  country,  but  would  tend 
to  elevate  and  purify  the  Mexican  church  itself,  and 
place  it  in  a  position  more  like  that  of  the  Catholic 
church  in  the  United  States.  Similar  sentiments 
were  freely  expressed  by  the  late  President  Juarez, 
and  by  other  high  officers  of  state,  and  they  are  ex- 
tensively held  by  leading  men  in  Mexico  to-day. 

In  tracing  the  interventions  of  Providence  in  the 
remarkable  history  of  the  country,  let  us  inquire 
what  have  been  the  causes  of  this  wonderful  trans- 
formation from  the  old  regime.    The  three  centuries 

321 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

which  followed  the  Spanish  Conquest  are  historically 
a  barren  waste.  While  Cortez  was  permitted  to  re- 
main in  power  there  was  energy.  The  city  was  re- 
built and  well-  built  in  a  very  short  period,  largely  by 
enforced  Indian  labor.  But  Cortez  became  an  object 
of  mean  jealousy,  was  misrepresented  at  the  Court 
of  Spain,  and  was  baffled  and  persecuted  till  he  had 
drunk  the  dregs  of  the  very  cup  of  ingratitude  and 
heartlessness  which  he  had  given  to  the  generous 
monarch  of  the  Aztecs.  The  Indians  were  reduced 
to  peonage  on  the  great  estates  of  the  Spanish  plant- 
ers. Foreign  bishops  amassed  fortunes,  while  the 
lower  clergy  of  the  native  priesthood  were  allowed  a 
pittance.  Immense  estates  were  gathered  into  the 
hands  of  the  church,  which  finally  became  the  chief 
creditor  of  the  nation.  By  deed  or  by  mortgage, 
one-third  of  all  real  property  was  thus  held.  This 
state  of  things  existed  till  the  spirit  of  liberty  and 
independence  was  awakened  within  our  own  century. 
We  have  seen  in  the  preceding  chapter  how  a 
revolution  beginning  in  Mexico  in  the  year  1810  ex- 
tended to  all  the  Spanish-American  colonies ;  how  a 
chivalric  loyalty  to  the  sovereigns  of  Castile  had 
hitherto  prevailed,  however  severe  their  oppression, 
but  how  when  in  1808,  Napoleon  II  sent  his 
armies  into  Spain  and  placed  his  brother  Joseph  on 
the  throne,  the  charm  was  broken  and  the  Spanish 
sceptre  became  an  object  of  contempt.  Even  the 
church  party  in  Mexico  were  in  favor  of  an  inde- 
pendent monarchy;  a  priest  led  the  revolt.     This 

222 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

movement  may  have  gained  some  additional  stimulus 
from  the  fact  that  just  at  the  close  of  the  century 
the  island  of  Hayti,  moved  perhaps  by  the  French 
revolution,  had  declared  her  independence  of  France. 
Although  England  compelled  Napoleon  to  restore 
Ferdinand  VII,  and  although  strong  reactionary 
measures  were  by  him  adopted,  yet  Spain  itself,  as 
well  as  her  colonies  had  caught  the  spirit  of  liberty. 
In  1 82 1  Mexico,  under  the  lead  of  Iturbide  and  Vic- 
toria, achieved  her  independence. 

But  liberty  advanced  only  one  step  at  a  time.  For 
three  years  Iturbide  tried  to  establish  an  independent 
empire,  and  finally  lost  his  life  in  the  attempt.  And 
after  the  establishment  of  a  republican  government 
in  1824,  the  people  still  hoped  to  reconcile  republican 
principles  in  government,  with  mediaeval  principles 
in  the  church.  In  all  these  Spanish  states  it  has 
taken  over  half  a  century  to  learn  that  republicanism 
and  the  old  Romanism  are  from  their  very  nature  in 
universal  and  eternal  conflict;  that  the  one  encour- 
ages the  enlightenment  and  free  thought  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  cannot  exist  without  them;  while  the  other 
must  exist  by  authority  and  repression.  The  result 
has  been  a  long  succession  of  pronunciamentos,  and 
bloody  rebellions.  I  do  not  say  this  to  the  dis- 
credit of  the  Mexican  people.  I  doubt  if  we  should 
have  done  better  with  a  constitution  which  positively 
denied  all  freedom  of  opinion,  and  declared  in  plain 
terms  that  ''no  other  religion  than  that  of  the  Apos- 
tolic, Roman  Catholic  church"  should  be  tolerated. 

223 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

But  we  come  to  another  series  of  providences  in  re- 
lation to  Mexico,  and  those  too  which  have  to  do  with 
our  own  history,  and  with  the  general  advancement 
of  civihzation.  In  the  years  1834-36,  Santa  Anna, 
then  President  of  Mexico,  either  from  motives  of 
personal  ambition,  or  from  a  conviction  that  repub- 
licanism, strictly  speaking,  was  impossible,  brought 
about  a  coup  d'etat  by  which  the  governments  of 
the  different  states  were  abolished,  and  all  power 
was  concentrated  in  the  central  government  under 
his  dictatorship.  Witness  the  wonderful  and  far- 
reaching  effect  of  that  one  act!  Yucatan  on  the 
south,  and  Texas  on  the  north  at  once  rebelled;  and 
so  grave  was  the  Texan  rebellion,  that  Santa  Anna 
himself  was  compelled  to  take  the  field.  His  armies 
attacked  and  dispersed  the  Texan  legislature;  and 
prisoners  of  war  whom  they  captured  Avere  merci- 
lessly shot  by  his  orders,  thus  rendering  the  recon- 
ciliation of  the  people  of  Texas  forever  impossible. 
At  the  battle  of  San  Jacinto,  Santa  Anna  was  van- 
quished, and  taken  prisoner  by  General  Plouston,  and 
for  ten  years  Texas  maintained  her  independence. 

The  period  intervening  between  1836  and  1846 
was  an  eventful  one  in  Mexican  history.  The  per- 
fidious course  pursued  by  the  dictator,  Santa  Anna, 
toward  Yucatan  was  especially  disastrous.  Though 
conquered  and  taken  prisoner  he  managed  to  re- 
instate himself  in  1841,  and  soon  made  war  on 
Yucatan  as  he  had  done  in  Texas.  His  odious  con- 
scriptions for  the  support  of  the  Texan  war  had  more 

224 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

and  more  alienated  the  people,  who  calling  to  their 
aid  the  Maya  Indians  in  Eastern  Yucatan  had  suc- 
ceeded in  1840  in  driving  the  Mexican  force  out  of 
the  country.  Santa  Anna  now  proposed  to  subjugate 
both  refractory  states  by  drafting  five  thousand  Yu- 
catanos  for  his  war  against  Texas  and  on  the  other 
hand  by  placing  an  equal  number  of  loyal  Mexicans 
in  Yucatan.  This  hostile  force  was  finally  increased 
to  eleven  thousand.  A  disingenuous  peace  was  ef- 
fected in  1843,  only  to  be  broken  by  the  Mexican 
Government  in  1844.  Santa  Anna  had  again  fallen 
from  power  and  been  banished  to  Cuba,  and  had  been 
succeeded  in  turn  by  Herrera  and  Paredes.  But  in 
1846  by  consummate  intrigue  and  the  most  glowing 
promises  he  succeeded  in  again  being  recognized  by 
the  contending  factions  as  President  of  the  republic. 
This  was  at  the  opening  of  the  war  with  the  United 
States. 

Yucatan  was  now  placed  in  a  most  precarious  po- 
sition. Some  of  her  leaders  had  joined  in  calling 
Santa  Anna  to  the  presidency,  and  this  act  in  spite 
of  her  previous  declarations  of  independence  was 
construed  by  Mr.  Buchanan,  United  States  Secretary 
of  State,  as  identifying  herself  with  Mexico  in  hos- 
tilities against  the  United  States.  She  was  therefore 
without  friends  on  either  side  as  she  had  nothing  to 
hope  for  from  the  Mexican  government  after  our 
war  should  cease.  But  worst  of  all  she  was  now 
attacked  from  an  unexpected  quarter.  The  Maya 
Indians  who  greatly  outnumbered  the  white  popula- 

225 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

tion  in  Yucatan  and  who  had  from  the  first  conquest 
been  treated  as  serfs  and  loaded  with  remorseless 
taxation,  had  unfortunately  been  armed  and  brought 
into  the  field  as  allies  against  Mexico.  They  had 
thus  learned  their  power  and  they  now  arose  for  the 
settlement  of  old  scores.  There  is  scarcely  a  paral- 
lel in  modern  history  to  the  wholesale  slaughter  and 
devastation  which  were  visited  upon  the  white  popu- 
lation of  Yucatan  in  1847  and  the  early  part  of  1848. 
Four  large  towns,  over  fifty  hamlets  and  two  hun- 
dred ranches  and  plantations  were  destroyed,  and 
men,  women  and  children  were  slain.  The  Indians, 
accustomed  to  hardship,  having  few  wants  and 
scarcely  any  impedimenta,  would  strike  the  settle- 
ments when  and  where  least  expected,  and  then  with 
wonderful  celerity  would  retreat  into  the  dense  for- 
ests and  morasses  where  the  Spanish  troops  were 
unable  to  pursue  them. 

The  most  pathetic  appeals  were  made  repeatedly 
to  the  government  of  the  United  States  for  assist- 
ance accompanied  with  the  unrestricted  ofYer  of  Yu- 
catan as  a  dependency.  In  desperation  similar  offers 
were  made  to  Great  Britain,  France  and  Spain. 
President  Polk  sent  a  message  to  Congress  on  the 
subject  April  29th,  1848,  setting  forth  the  deep  dis- 
tress but  making  no  recommendations,  except  that 
the  principles  of  the  Monroe  doctrine  should  be  in- 
sisted upon  to  the  exclusion  of  protectorates  by  Eu- 
ropean powers  over  any  part  of  North  America. 

Similar  questions  had  arisen  in  regard  to  Mexican 
226 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

possessions  on  the  Pacific  coast.  In  July,  1846,  Cali- 
fornia, influenced  chiefly  by  American  settlers,  also 
declared  her  independence  of  Mexico. 

The  various  stages  in  the  transfer  of  Mexican 
claims  in  California  to  the  United  States,  the  con- 
flicts of  Fremont  and  others  with  the  forces  of  Gen- 
eral Castro  have  been  noticed  in  the  preceding  chap- 
ters. The  United  States  flag  which  was  raised  by 
Commodore  Sloat  at  Monterey  in  1846  was  recog- 
nized by  treaty  in  1848. 

The  slave  power  in  the  United  States  had  wel- 
comed the  advent  of  war  with  Mexico  over  the  pos- 
session of  Texas,  as  its  broad  area  available  for  slave 
territory  would  afford  a  balance  to  the  expanding 
development  of  free  states  in  the  west  and  north- 
west. When  the  arms  of  the  United  States  proved 
triumphant  and  the  question  of  an  indemnity  arose, 
the  vision  of  Texas  stretched  away  indefinitely  to- 
ward the  Pacific.  The  accession  of  California  had 
already  been  virtually  accomplished.  Yucatan, 
though  it  was  offered  to  the  United  States,  was  not 
desired.  But  the  Mexican  territories  lying  north  of 
the  Rio  Grande  were  of  greater  value  to  the  northern 
republic  than  to  the  southern.  The  war  had  been  ac- 
tively waged  through  the  breadth  of  the  continent 
by  General  Scott  in  Vera  Cruz  and  Mexico  City, 
General  Taylor  at  Matamoras  and  Monterey,  Gen- 
eral Kearney  in  Arizona,  and  Colonel  Fremont  and 
Commodores  Sloat  and  Stockton  on  the  Pacific.  By 
the  treaty  of  Guadaloupe  Hidalgo  in  1848,  New  Mex- 

227 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

ico  and  Arizona  as  well  as  Texas  and  California  were 
acknowledged  as  belonging  to  the  United  States. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  Mexico  found  herself  in- 
vested with  new  conditions.  She  had  a  diminished 
and  more  compact  territory,  but  more  even  yet  than 
could  be  well  and  thoroughly  governed  and  utilized. 
She  had  learned  the  real  measure  of  her  relative 
power.  The  people  if  not  the  rulers,  saw  the  need  of 
reforms  and  greater  freedom  of  thought.  The  old 
stagnation  was  broken  and  the  people  demanded  lib- 
erty. With  the  army  of  General  Scott  the  Bible  had 
entered  Mexico  and  was  at  work  as  a  leaven. 

But  the  task  of  gaining  a  release  from  the  yoke  of 
the  hierarchy  was  not  an  easy  one,  nor  was  it  to  be 
accomplished  in  a  day.  As  above  stated  the  church 
had  in  the  early  days  acquired  large  estates.  These 
had  been  increased  by  confiscation  of  the  estates  of 
heretics  condemned  by  the  Inquisition.  Large  gifts 
had  also  been  made  by  the  dying  under  fear  of  pur- 
gatory; the  church  had  large  interests  and  large 
profits  in  mining  enterprises.  And  with  the  down- 
fall of  the  Spanish  rule  the  financial  power  of  the 
priests  had  remained  undisturbed. 

Monasteries  and  cathedrals  of  great  wealth  and 
magnificence  had  arisen  in  all  the  chief  cities,  and 
processions  and  ceremonies  entertained  the  people 
while  their  liberties  were  sacrificed  by  an  arrogant 
priesthood.  The  first  formidable  protest  against  this 
tyranny  had  been  made  in  1833  when  laws  were 
passed  suppressing  monasteries  and  convents  and 

228 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

confiscating  clerical  property — the  proceeds  to  be  ap- 
plied to  the  payment  of  the  national  debt. 

But  the  power  of  the  church  had  not  been  rightly 
estimated.  It  instigated  successive  insurrections  un- 
til the  government  was  glad  to  secure  peace  by  ab- 
rogating the  obnoxious  laws.  Even  after  the  war 
with  the  United  States,  the  supremacy  of  the  church 
was  still  conspicuously  manifest,  and  new  acquisi- 
tions of  property  were  continually  made. 

Under  the  presidential  administration  of  Juarez  in 
1 86 1  restrictive  legislation  was  again  passed,  abol- 
ishing ecclesiastical  tribunals,  suppressing  monas- 
teries, making  marriage  a  civil  contract,  and  declar- 
ing church  edifices  the  property  of  the  state.  It  was 
evident  that  the  final  crisis  had  come.  The  question 
whether  Mexico  was  really  a  republic  governed  by 
the  people,  or  as  a  servile  dependency  of  Rome, 
suffering  the  local  control  of  the  ecclesiastical  au- 
thorities, must  be  settled.  The  spirit  of  liberty  had 
greatly  increased  in  strength.  Juarez  was  a  leader 
of  skill  and  power,  the  church  party  could  no  longer 
depend  on  the  recourse  to  popular  insurrections,  and 
they  were  ready  for  any  foreign  alliance  though  it 
should  overthrow  the  independence  of  the  people. 
''Better  sacrifice  the  Republic  than  lose  the  su- 
premacy of  the  church." 

In  the  preceding  chapter  I  have  spoken  of  the 
parallel  between  the  ambitious  schemes  of  Napoleon 
I,  and  those  of  Napoleon  III,  with  reference  to 
Spain  and  the  Spanish-American  states :  also  of  the 

229 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

fact  that  the  latter  had  seized  his  opportunity  dur- 
ing the  progress  of  the  Civil  War  in  the  United 
States  when  there  would  be  few  chances  of  inter- 
vention by  foreign  powers.  But  he  must  also  have 
some  shadow  of  a  pretext  and  this  he  found. 
A  Swiss  banker  had  an  exaggerated  financial  claim 
against  the  Mexican  government  which  by  the  adop- 
tion of  the  banker  as  a  citizen  of  France,  furnished 
the  Emperor  with  a  pretext.  England  and  Spain 
also  had  claims,  and  an  alliance  was  formed  for  an 
armed  intervention. 

In  1862  the  united  fleets  appeared  at  Vera  Cruz 
with  their  contingents  of  men.  But  England  and 
Spain,  on  discovering  the  preposterous  claims  of 
France  and  the  unscrupulous  nature  of  the  Imperial 
policy,  withdrew  from  the  enterprise  and  recalled 
their  forces.  The  French  army  under  Generals  Forey 
and  Bazaine,  fought  their  way  over  the  Cordilleras 
to  the  capital,  where  they  established  a  provisional 
government  known  as  the  ''Regency  of  the  Empire." 
This  virtual  French  assembly,  as  a  mere  prearranged 
formality,  submitted  the  choice  of  a  ruler  to  the 
patronizing  French  Emperor,  who  was  politic  enough 
to  give  it  to  the  House  of  Austria,  which  he  had  de- 
feated on  the  plains  of  Lombardy. 

In  the  beautiful  palace  of  Miramar,  on  the  shores 
of  the  Adriatic,  resided  an  archduke  of  Hapsburg 
with  his  young  and  accomplished  wife,  daughter  of 
King  Leopold  of  Belgium  and  granddaughter  of 
Louis  Philippe.     The  Duke  was  holding  a  sort  of 

230 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

ornamental  governorship  in  Venetia,  and  possessed 
as  he  was  of  great  amiabiUty  and  honor,  but  without 
a  particle  of  the  genius  requisite  for  great  under- 
takings, he  seemed  exactly  in  his  place  in  that  quiet 
paradise  on  the  Adriatic.  But  there  the  evil  genius 
of  French  ambition  sought  him,  and  thither  strange 
ambassadors,  half  Spanish  and  half  Indian,  came  to 
offer  him  a  crown.  On  the  loth  of  April,  1864,  amid 
all  the  pomp  of  royalty,  this  ill-starred  couple  left 
their  charming  abode,  and  embarked  for  Mexico. 
Stopping  at  Civita  Vecchia,  they  paid  a  visit  to  the 
Holy  City,  where  they  received  the  communion  and 
the  Papal  benediction,  and  were  honored  with  a  pri- 
vate breakfast  with  Pius  IX  and  Cardinal  Antonelli. 

After  touching  again  at  Gibraltar,  where  they  re- 
ceived salutes  from  the  British  garrison,  they  arrived 
in  May  at  Vera  Cruz.  Their  journey  to  Mexico 
City  was  one  series  of  ovations  from  the  clerical 
party.  Having  proceeded  first  of  all  to  the  great 
cathedral  to  celebrate  mass,  they  were  escorted  to  the 
old  vice-regal  palace,  amid  the  ringing  of  bells  and 
the  rejoicing  of  the  reactionists  that  the  republic 
was  dead,  and  an  empire  once  more  established. 

In  December  of  that  same  year,  1864,  I  happened 
to  be  at  Gibraltar  with  a  friend,  when  a  vessel  ar- 
rived from  Trieste  with  several  hundred  picked  men 
of  the  Austrian  and  Hungarian  armies,  destined  for 
the  Foreign  Legion  of  Maximilian.  Our  war  of  the 
rebellion  was  still  in  progress,  and  I  well  remember 
the  indignation  which  we  felt  at  the  evident  sym- 

231 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

pathy  of  both  Austrians  and  Britons,  with  the  pros- 
pective overthrow  of  the  Mexican  repubUc,  and  per- 
haps our  own  also;  and  when  at  the  evening  dress 
parade  the  mihtary  band  played  "God  save  the 
Queen,"  and  the  enthusiastic  soldiery  joined  and 
sang  their  national  hymn,  we  joined  also;  but  we 
sang  into  their  song,  words  more  consonant  with  our 
emotions,  '*My  Country,  'tis  of  Thee,  sweet  land  of 
Liberty,  of  Thee  I  sing." 

Those  Austrians  only  reached  Mexico  to  support 
a  waning  cause,  for  General  Sherman  was  already 
on  his  march  to  the  sea;  and  within  four  months 
General  Grant  received  that  significant  surrender  at 
Appomattox,  which  attracted  the  attention  of  France, 
and  of  all  the  courts  of  Europe.  From  that  day 
everything  went  wrong  with  the  French  power  in 
Mexico.  It  was  patent  to  all  men  that  the  Empire 
would  prove  a  failure;  and  the  French  people  espe- 
cially were  vexed  at  the  stupendous  blunder  of  their 
ambitious  and  meddling  Emperor.  Our  Secretary 
of  State  William  H.  Seward,  who  from  time  to  time 
had  remonstrated  with  the  Court  of  France,  but  who 
hitherto  had  been  but  little  heeded,  now  grew  em- 
phatic, and,  as  Justin  McCarthy  puts  it,  he  informed 
the  French  Emperor  through  his  minister,  that  "it 
would  be  gravely  inconvenient"  if  he  did  not  remove 
his  troops  from  Mexican  soil. 

Meanwhile,  Maximilian  and  Carlotta  had  both  sin- 
cerely endeavored  to  conciliate  the  people;  he  by  spe- 
cial franchises,  she  by  indefatigable  charities.    Both 

23,2 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

the  Emperor  and  the  Empress  had  paid  court  to  the 
church  party,  even  to  the  yearly  performance  of  the 
ceremony  of  lavation,  each  washing  the  feet  of 
twelve  Mexican  beggars,  a  task  which  upon  such  sub- 
jects was  no  empty  ceremony. 

But  in  July,  1866,  matters  had  assumed  so  grave 
an  aspect  that  the  young  Empress,  then  only  twenty- 
six  years  of  age,  set  out  with  a  few  attendants  to 
visit  the  Court  of  France  and  remonstrate  with 
Napoleon  against  the  withdrawal  of  his  support. 
Receiving  only  discouragement,  she  passed  on  to  her 
deserted  castle  of  Miramar,  which  she  reached  in  the 
midst  of  a  dismal  storm,  as  if  the  very  skies  would 
point  the  contrasts  of  her  return  and  symbolize  the 
ruin  of  her  fortunes.  She  next  sought  solace  in  a 
visit  to  the  Pope;  but  even  before  she  reached  Rome 
her  reason  began  to  sink  under  her  heavy  burdens, 
and  her  wild  fancy  was,  that  Napoleon  had  bribed 
her  friends  to  poison  her.  Her  interview  with  the 
Pope  was  most  touching.  She  plead  for  protection. 
She  begged  to  be  permitted  to  remain  in  his  safe  re- 
treat, and  she  did  remain  one  whole  night  in  the 
waiting-room  of  the  Vatican  with  two  or  three  at- 
tendants. For  days  she  refused  all  food,  only  pur- 
chasing with  her  own  hands  a  few  chestnuts  and 
fruits  at  the  corners  of  the  streets. 

I  need  not  rehearse  that  sorrowful  history.  She 
never  returned  to  her  husband ;  and,  for  more  than 
thirty  years,  she  has  remained  under  the  same  dark 
cloud.    Nor  can  we  dwell  upon  the  details  of  Max- 

233 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

imilian's  fate;  how,  upon  learning  of  the  illness  of 
his  wife,  he  at  first  resolved  to  leave  Mexico,  and 
actually  proceeded  as  far  as  Orizaba,  on  his  way  to 
Vera  Cruz,  where  a  steamer  awaited  him;  how  he 
there  hesitated  and  finally,  considering  his  obliga- 
tions to  those  who  had  espoused  his  cause,  turned 
back,  resolved  to  abide  by  the  result.  It  is  said  that  the 
clerical  party  were  largely  responsible  for  this  fatal 
choice.  A  delegation  of  Bishops  and  notables  repre- 
senting the  church,  pledged  to  him  an  army  and  ten 
millions  of  dollars,  with  the  support  of  the  better 
classes  and  ultimate  success,  if  he  would  remain  in 
the  country  and  take  up  a  position  at  Queretero. 

At  the  same  time  no  means  were  left  untried  to 
reconcile  the  people  to  the  Empire.  Efforts  were 
made  especially  to  excite  jealousy  toward  the  United 
States.  The  ravings  of  a  subsidized  press  on  this 
subject  were  sometimes  tragic,  and  sometimes  amus- 
ing. A  favorite  line  of  argument  was,  that  the 
United  States  were  only  impeding  the  imperial  cause 
in  order  to  secure  the  country  for  themselves.  "You 
will  soon  hear,"  said  one  of  these  papers,  '*of  schemes 
of  annexation.  The  sordid  and  aggressive  Yankees 
will  overrun  your  land  with  their  railroads  and  their 
sharp  speculations.  Your  mines  will  be  exhausted 
by  adventurers,  and  all  positions  of  profit  will  be 
monopolized.  Your  very  soil  will  grow  Connecticut 
nutmegs;  and  worst  of  all,  you  will  see  Ben  Butler, 
Dictator  at  Vera  Cruz." 

Meanwhile  the  republic,  which  for  ten  years  had 
234 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

existed,  I  might  almost  say  in  the  person  of  a  single 
man — Benito  Juarez — had  returned  from  its  exile  at 
El  Paso  to  San  Luis  Potosi,  and  it  became  apparent 
that  the  final  conflict  would  center  at  Queretero,  half 
way  between  the  latter  place  and  the  capital. 

Pardon  a  single  glance  at  this  remarkable  man, 
Juarez.  A  pure-blooded  Indian,  born  in  the  moun- 
tains of  Oaxaca,  he  had  risen  to  power  by  his  ac- 
knowledged genius.  When  Comonfort  betrayed  the 
republic  to  the  reactionists  in  1857,  Juarez  main- 
tained the  liberal  cause  till  the  next  election,  when 
he  was  chosen  President.  During  all  the  years  of 
the  struggle  with  France,  this  man,  with  a  Cabinet 
composed  of  Lerdo,  Iglecias,  and  Mareshal,  and 
with  Senor  Romero  as  his  minister  at  Washington, 
kept  alive  the  cause  of  liberty  among  the  people. 
Even  when  they  w^ere  driven  to  El  Paso  on  the 
northern  border,  they  still  held  their  organization  as 
President  and  Cabinet  of  the  republic;  and  sending 
letters  through  the  United  States  to  friends  in  all 
lands,  they  assured  them  that  their  republican  cause 
was  not  dead  but  would  certainly  triumph  in  the  end. 
Scarcely  less  remarkable  than  that  of  Juarez  has  been 
the  career  of  Senor  Romero  which  continued  to 
the  close  of  1899,  having  extended  over  more  than 
thirty  years  of  public  service  to  his  country.  Proba- 
bly no  fellow  countryman  of  his  generation  has  ac- 
complished more  for  the  prestige  of  Mexico  than  he. 
Certainly  no  representative  of  a  foreign  powxr  has 
proved  more  acceptable  to  the  United  States.    The 

235 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

sublime  faith  and  devotion  of  Juarez  and  Romero 
doubtless  had  great  influence  in  shaping  our  policy 
at  Washington  and  in  creating  a  reactionary  senti- 
ment against  the  Empire  even  in  Europe. 

The  spring  of  1867  brought  the  beginning  of  the 
end.  Maximilian's  chief  forces,  with  himself  among 
them,  were  at  Queretero  under  siege.  In  an  attempt 
to  escape  he  was  betrayed  by  one  of  his  generals, 
placed  under  arrest,  tried  by  a  military  tribunal,  and 
with  Generals  Miramon  and  Mexia  was  sentenced  to 
be  shot. 

In  the  trying  scenes  which  followed,  the  character 
of  our  typical  Indian  President  was  well  illustrated. 
Efforts  were  made  by  our  government  and  by  the 
European  Consuls  to  secure  a  change  of  sentence. 
And  when  the  wife  of  Prince  Salm  Salm,  a  member 
of  Maximilian's  staff,  threw  herself  at  the  Presi- 
dent's feet  and  clung  to  his  knees  as  she  poured  out 
her  entreaties,  he  wept  in  sympathy,  while  he  de- 
clared himself  powerless  as  a  mere  executive  under 
the  behests  of  the  law.  It  is  a  strange  spectacle,  a 
European  princess  at  the  feet  of  an  Indian  patriot 
pleading  for  the  life  of  an  Emperor,  and  both  weep- 
ing as  the  solemn  fiat  is  uttered.  And  this  is  the 
man — this  full-blooded  Mexican  Indian — this  is  the 
man  who  for  ten  years  of  hard  struggles  had  carried 
a  republic  in  his  head  and  heart,  and  who,  both  be- 
fore and  after  that  solemn  hour,  did  more  than  any 
other,  to  restore  order  to  his  distracted  country. 
When,  in  a  public  reception,  a  captured  French  tri- 

236 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

color  was  spread  for  him  to  walk  upon,  he  stepped 
aside;  **No/'  he  said,  ''the  French  are  not  our  ene- 
mies— it  is  only  their  Emperor.  The  French  are 
our  friends,  and  depend  upon  it,  that  flag  will  yet 
wave  over  a  republic."  A  prophecy  which  Juarez 
lived  to  see  fulfilled! 

I  have  spoken  of  this  man  for  one  chief  reason.  I 
have  desired  to  enkindle  a  deeper  interest  in  the  six 
millions  of  these  Indian  tribes  just  over  the  border, 
by  showing  that  one  of  their  number  at  least,  has 
held  a  place  among  the  truly  great  men  of  our  gen- 
eration. And  I  have  marked  the  struggle  of  the 
Mexican  people  for  their  independence,  in  order  to 
meet  the  flippant  talk  which  we  sometimes  hear 
alout  annexing  their  country  to  the  United  States. 
I  have  wished  to  show  that  men  whom  the  armies 
of  Europe  could  not  compel  to  accept  even  the  most 
amiable  of  rulers,  men  who  could  carry  the  life  and 
soul  of  their  republic  with  them,  though  driven  all 
over  their  domain,  are  not  of  a  class  to  be  handed 
over  easily  to  a  neighboring  power — exchanging 
their  independence  for  a  few  railroad  lines  and  a 
little  commerce.  We  would  not  attempt  to  annex 
Mexico;  but  would  rather  take  a  generous  pride  in 
her  independence,  while  by  every  means  we  extend 
our  aid  in  securing  for  her  all  the  blessings  of  Chris- 
tian enlightenment  which  we  enjoy.  But  chiefly  it 
is  my  desire  to  emphasize  those  wonderful  provi- 
dences which  have  wrought  out  her  religious  liberty. 

Human   foresight  could  never  have  devised  or 

237 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

foreshadowed  any  train  of  events  which  could  hope 
to  break  the  power  of  Rome,  so  protracted  and  so 
entrenched.  But  when  this  attempt  was  made  to  im- 
pose a  foreign  Empire  upon  the  people,  and  when 
they  saw  that  the  Pope  of  Rome  was  deep  in  the 
counsels  of  their  enemies,  and  that  their  own  priest- 
hood were  helping  to  urge  it  forward,  it  aroused 
them  to  a  high  and  intense  resolve  to  break  away 
from  the  hoary  thraldom  forever.  It  united  all  the 
liberal  elements  in  the  state  and  rallied  them  for  the 
defence  of  their  religious  freedom.  It  created  a  de- 
mand for  the  Bible  as  the  foundation  of  liberty,  for 
schools  and  the  press  and  Protestant  influence,  and 
whatever  should  help  to  disintegrate  the  one  over- 
shadowing mass  of  Papal  power. 

Although  the  bitterness  of  the  priesthood  has 
instigated  many,  and  even  bloody,  persecutions, 
and  the  roll  of  Mexican  martyrs  in  the  last  twenty 
years  is  not  small,  yet  the  cause  of  the  truth  and  of 
an  enlightened  spirit  has  steadily  progressed,  and 
Mexico  is  winning  an  honorable  place  among  the 
nations. 

Meanwhile  the  National  church  which  Maximil- 
ian's chaplain.  Abbe  Domineck,  condemned  as  little 
better  than  ''baptized  heathenism,"  is  considerably 
improved.  The  hope  once  expressed  by  the  distin- 
guished and  far-sighted  General  Escobedo,  that  the 
influence  of  Protestant  Missions  might  help  to  re- 
form the  national  church  and  render  it  more  like  the 
Catholic  church  in  the  United  States,  is  in  a  measure 

238 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

being  realized.  After  three  hundred  and  fifty  years 
of  Spanish  occupation,  there  is  the  full  dawn  of  a 
better  day.  Already  Mexico  has  taken  an  honored 
place  among  the  nations. 


239 


THE  DAWN  OF  HAWAII* 

Here  in  the  beautiful  old  town  of  Cornwall, 
Conn.,  I  find  a  manuscript  record  of  the  well-known 
mission  school  which  the  fathers  of  two  generations 
ago  established  for  the  training  of  heathen  youth 
gathered  from  all  lands.  This  record  has  been  com- 
piled with  great  labor  by  Rev.  E.  C.  Starr,  present 
pastor  of  the  Cornwall  Congregational  Church. 

In  the  sadly  populous  old  cemetery  on  the  adjacent 
slope  of  one  of  these  southern  spurs  of  the  Berkshire 
hills,  is  the  well-kept  grave  of  the  Sandwich  Island 
boy,  Henry  Obookiah,  whose  strange  advent  in  these 
New  England  towns  in  the  early  years  of  this  cen- 
tury, was  regarded  as  a  veritable  Macedonian  call  to 
the  American  churches. 

Some  years  before  this,  the  islanders  had  asked 
the  navigator,  Vancouver,  to  send  them  teachers,  and 
now  the  actual  appearance  of  a  living  representative 
at  the  doors  of  Yale  College,  pleading  for  an  educa- 
tion, undoubtedly  hastened  the  establishment  of  the 
Sandwich  Islands  or  Hawaiian  mission.  The  Ha- 
waiian mission  wrought  out  the  Hawaiian  civiliza- 
tion and  the  final  consummation  of  it  which  so  re- 


*This  chapter  was  written  at  Cornwall,  July  i,  i! 
240 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

cently  has  made  these  "Gems  of  the  Pacific"  a  part 
of  our  American  domain.  I  speak  advisedly  when  I 
claim  the  Hawaii  of  to-day  as  the  manifest  result  of 
missionary  labor  and  influence,  for  if  there  is  one 
land  above  all  others  which  is  not  a  conquest  of  mere 
''nineteenth  century  civilization"  that  is  it.  When  in 
1775  Captain  Cook  made  his  memorable  first  visit  to 
the  islands,  we  are  told  that  he  set  the  example  to 
his  sailors  of  unbridled  immorality.  Vancouver, 
who  had  accompanied  him,  and  who  in  1 792  made  a 
second  visit,  found  that  already  the  population  had 
been  seriously  diminished  by  the  diseases  contracted 
from  the  ship's  crcw\  By  the  concurrent  testimony, 
not  only  of  missionaries,  but  of  such  travelers  as 
Commodore  Wilkes,  Richard  H.  Dana  and  many 
others,  the  bad  example  of  Cook  has  been  followed 
by  the  merchant  marine,  the  whalers,  and  even  by 
naval  vessels,  down  to  a  very  late  period.  For  more 
than  half  a  century  there  was  waged  a  constant  fight 
between  the  missionaries  and  these  bad  representa- 
tives of  civilized  nations,  over  the  question  whether 
Hawaii  should  become  a  Christian  country  or  re- 
main ''a  paradise  of  lust."  Fortunately,  the  mis- 
sionaries and  their  descendants  in  the  islands  have 
won  the  day.  The  original  population  is  doubtless 
on  the  wane.  There  are  but  31,000  full  blooded  na- 
tives instead  of  400,000,  which  was  the  estimate  of 
Captain  Cook ;  but  the  New  England  spirit  and  cul- 
ture have  survived,  as  the  last  few  years  of  self- 
government  have  abundantly  shown. 

241 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

The  missionary  interest  which  centered  in  Henry 
Obookiah  and  his  fellow-countrymen,  several  of 
whom  received  education  at  Cornwall,  bore  a  strik- 
ingly providential  relation  to  the  establishment  of 
the  American  Board  and  the  American  Baptist  Mis- 
sionary Union.  In  the  year  1808  Samuel  J.  Mills 
organized  a  brotherhood  of  college  students  who 
pledged  themselves  to  the  work  of  Foreign  Missions. 
This  was  the  first  band  of  "Student  Volunteers,"  and 
the  haystack  at  Williamstown  was  their  sanctuary 
and  their  place  of  power.  By  the  year  1810  they  had 
removed  to  Andover,  and  we  find  them  like  Mott, 
and  Speer  and  Wilder,  visiting  other  institutions  for 
the  purpose  of  arousing  missionary  interest.  Their 
own  plans  ripened  fast,  and  as  early  as  February  of 
that  year.  Mills,  Judson,  Nott  and  Newell  applied 
to  the  Massachusetts  Association  to  be  sent  out  as 
missionaries,  without  designating  fields.  The  asso- 
ciation was  to  meet  on  the  27th  of  June,  at  Bradford. 
While  Dr.  Worcester  and  Rev.  Samuel  Spring  were 
driving  to  Bradford  to  attend  that  meeting,  their 
thoughts  were  full  of  the  new  challenge  which  these 
four  young  men  had  laid  before  the  New  England 
churches,  and  it  was  agreed  between  them  that  the 
time  had  come  for  a  distinct  missionary  organiza- 
tion ;  and  two  days  later  the  association  decided  upon 
the  institution  of  the  American  Board. 

The  late  Dr.  Gardiner  Spring,  son  of  Samuel 
Spring,  and  then  a  student  at  Andover  Theological 
Seminary,  attended  the  Bradford  meeting  as  a  spec- 

242 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

tator.  In  his  Personal  Reminiscences  he  states 
that  his  father  and  Dr.  Worcester  were  so  impressed 
by  the  steps  there  taken  towards  an  organized  for- 
eign missionary  work,  that  on  their  return  and  with 
their  faces  set  toward  Salem,  they  turned  aside  into 
a  forest  to  pray.  On  returning  to  the  road  they 
changed  their  course  entirely  and  drove  to  Boston 
to  the  residence  of  Jeremiah  Evarts,  Esq.,*  "in 
whose  parlor  the  incipient  arrangements  for  the 
future  operations  of  the  Board  were  made." 

On  his  return  to  his  church  in  Newburyport,  Dr. 
Samuel  Spring  preached  on  Sabbath  morning  a  mis- 
sionary sermon,  giving  an  account  of  the  steps  taken 
at  Bradford,  and  the  subsequent  consultation  at  the 
house  of  Mr.  Evarts  in  Boston.  He  spoke  particu- 
larly of  the  earnest  offer  of  service  made  to  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Association  by  the  young  men  Mills,  Jud- 
son,  Nott  and  Newell.  At  the  close  of  the  sermon  a 
collection  was  taken,  of  which  Dr.  Gardiner  Spring 
speaks  as  follows : 

"My  father's  congregation  had  a  large  share  of 
the  wealth  of  the  place,  and  a  large  share  of  its  mer- 
cantile marine,  composed  of  sea-captains  and  native 
mariners.  At  the  close  of  the  service  one  of  the  old 
sea-captains  remarked,  "The  doctor  has  given  us  a 
grand  sermon,  and  he  has  preached  all  the  jack- 
knives  out  of  the  sailor's  pockets."  On  returning  to 
my  father's  house,  and  laying  out  the  collection  on 
the  parlor  table,  there  were  gold,  and  silver,  and  cop- 
*Afterwards  secretary  of  the  Board. 

243  .   .        .'• 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

per,  and  not  a  few  jack-knives.  The  sailors  had  lit- 
tle else  to  give.  There  was  an  envelope,  too,  care- 
fully folded,  which  was  found  to  contain  a  gold  ring, 
and  the  following  lines: 

"  *  I  give,  but  oh,  my  gift's  so  small, 
'Tis  like  not  giving  you,  at  all; 
In  future,  if  by  God  I'm  blest, 
I'll  pay  him  tenfold  interest.' 

"And  this  the  first  collection  in  the  United  States 
for  foreign  missions,  was  taken  up  in  the  North 
Church,  in  Newburyport,  where,  by  my  father's 
hands  I  was  baptized." 

The  formal  organization  of  the  Board  was  com- 
pleted on  the  loth  of  September,  1810,  at  the  house 
of  Dr.  Noah  Porter,  in  Farmington,  Conn.  A  char- 
ter was  not  obtained  from  the  Massachusetts  legis- 
lature until  June  17,  181 2,  when  after  a  long  strug- 
gle and  in  spite  of  a  large  and  influential  minority, 
led  by  Governor  Elbridge  Gerry,  the  measure  was 
carried.  It  was  on  the  same  day  that  the  United 
States  declared  war  against  Great  Britain. 

The  connection  of  Samuel  J.  Mills  with  the  Sand- 
wich Islands  movement  is  seen  in  a  peculiar  provi- 
dential nexus  of  events.  While  he  was  on  a  student 
volunteer  visit  to  Yale  College  just  about  the  time 
that  he  and  his  fellows  offered  themselves  for  for- 
eign missions,  he  found  young  Obookiah  who  had 
arrived  only  a  few  months  before  (the  latter  part  of 
1809),  and  for  whom  President  D wight  had  pro- 

244 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

vided  temporary  tutors.  Mills  was  just  the  man  to 
have  the  care  of  Obookiah  for  the  time  at  least,  not 
only  for  the  good  of  the  young  man,  but  for  his  own, 
and  as  a  means  of  arousing  a  general  missionary  in- 
terest among  the  churches.  He  needed  an  object 
lesson.  In  the  vacations  he  took  his  protege  to  his 
own  father's  home  at  Torrington,  sixteen  miles  from 
Cornwall,  and  from  thence  he  was  passed  around  as 
a  converted  heathen  and  future  missionary,  to 
Goshen  and  Cornwall  and  Litchfield,  where  Lyman 
Beecher  espoused  his  cause  with  all  his  enthusiasm 
and  power.  Many  other  places  were  visited  and  the 
awakening  of  the  New  England  churches  on  the  sub- 
ject of  missions  became  general.  Three  of  the  mis- 
sionary candidates  who  had  offered  themselves  went 
to  India — of  whom  Judson  was  destined  to  be  an 
apostle  to  the  Baptist  churches  of  America  no  less 
than  to  the  people  of  Burmah.  But  Mills,  on  ac- 
count of  delicate  health,  was  detained  in  this  country, 
where  he  continued  to  look  after  Obookiah  and  the 
development  of  the  Hawaiian  mission;  and  later  he 
gave  himself  to  the  cause  of  home  missions  in  the 
West  and  Southwest,  and  last  of  all  to  the  establish- 
ment of  a  missionary  colony  for  emancipated  Ameri- 
can slaves  near  Sierra  Leone. 

Among  the  many  means  of  usefulness  to  which 
Mills  gave  his  attention  was  the  establishment  of  a 
missionary  training  school  for  heathen  youth.  It  is 
not  definitely  known  whether  he  or  Elias  Cornelius 
was  the  first  to  propose  it;  the  plan  was  formed  be- 

245 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

tween  them,  and  Mills  made  known  the  plan  by  an 
anonymous  letter  published  in  the  Panoplist  in  the 
autumn  of  1810.  At  its  annual  meeting  held  a  year 
before,  the  American  Board  had  formally  taken 
three  heathen  boys,  one  of  whom  was  Obookiah,  un- 
der its  care.  There  were  many,  some  from  the  Sand- 
wich Islands,  and  others  from  the  Indian  tribes,  who 
also  were  ready  for  education.  The  plan  pursued  up 
to  that  time  was  to  place  these  youths  in  families 
or  family  schools.  But  why  not  concentrate  this 
good  work  in  one  well-equipped  missionary  institu- 
tion? What  could  be  more  rational  and  wise  than 
to  gather  together  the  youth  of  all  heathen  nations 
and  train  them  for  ambassadors  of  the  Cross  to  their 
respective  kindreds  and  tribes  ?  The  possibility  that 
they  might  become  denationalized  by  their  contact 
with  American  society  and  institutions — a  possibil- 
ity of  which  we  have  become  so  painfully  aware  in 
the  present  generation,  and  the  danger  that  Christian 
people  in  their  sentimental  zeal  might  coddle  them 
and  spoil  their  hope  of  efficiency,  had  not  presented 
itself.  Moreover,  the  inception  of  the  movement  had 
been  so  strikingly  providential — who  could  question 
it  ?  The  wisdom  of  the  wisest  favored  it,  and  at  the 
meeting  of  the  American  Board  which  met  in  Sep- 
tember of  that  year  (181 6)  at  Hartford,  it  was  re- 
solved to  establish  the  school,  and  a  committee,  con- 
sisting of  President  Dwight,  James  Morris,  Lyman 
Beecher,  Charles  Prentice  and  James  Harvey,  was 
appointed  to  carry  the  resolution  into  effect.    On  the 

246 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

29th  of  October,  the  committee  met  in  New  Haven 
at  the  house  of  the  chairman,  Dr.  Dwight,  adopted  a 
constitution,  and  decided  that  the  school  should  be 
located  at  Cornwall,  Conn. 

For  the  cultivation  of  simple  and  economical  habits, 
and  the  avoidance  of  the  various  moral  and  social 
evils  incident  to  large  and  populous  communities,  no 
place  could  have  been  more  fortunately  chosen.  And 
the  missionary  spirit  which  had  been  enkindled  in  the 
surrounding  towns  of  Litchfield,  Goshen,  Torring- 
ton,  Sharon,  Washington,  Norfolk  and  many  others, 
gave  good  promise  of  sympathy  and  support.  The 
Cornwall  people  gave  the  land  for  buildings  and  for 
a  small  school  farm,  and  contributions  in  money  and 
in  every  conceivable  commodity  which  could  be  use- 
ful in  such  a  school,  flowed  in  from  a  wide  range 
of  New  England  towns,  and  finally  from  the  middle 
states  and  even  from  the  far  South.  Two  noble- 
men, one  in  Prussia  and  one  in  Switzerland,  showed 
their  interest  by  large  and  repeated  contributions.  It 
is  interesting  and  instructive  at  this  distance  of  time 
to  look  over  the  long  lists  of  contributions  which  are 
still  preserved.  They  reveal  the  far-reaching  in- 
fluence of  the  institution  in  fostering  a  missionary  in- 
terest; one  is  surprised  that  in  the  brief  decade  of  its 
existence  it  should  have  become  so  widely  known. 
All  classes  of  contributors  had  a  share  in  the  work. 
Farm  products  of  all  kinds  were  given  in  large  quan- 
tities and  in  small.  Housewives  contributed  the 
products  of  their  looms  or  of  their  knitting  needles. 

247 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

But  the  fact  which  appears  most  prominent  is  that 
almost  every  community  had  its  woman's  society,  af- 
fording contributions  in  money  or  in  clothing.  The 
work  of  the  young  people  was  not  as  well  organized 
as  at  the  present  day,  but  the  interest  in  the  Cornwall 
school  gave  rise  to  scores  of  youthful  bands,  more 
frequently  girls  and  young  ladies.  So  strong  is  the 
resemblance  to  the  present  local  missionary  organiza- 
tions, that  it  is  difficult  to  realize  that  an  interval  of 
more  than  eighty  years  has  passed. 

A  single  incident  will  illustrate  the  influence  which 
the  novel  spectacle  of  twenty-five  or  thirty  scholars 
once  heathen  produced  upon  the  boys  and  girls 
in  many  Christian  homes  at  that  time.  In  1870, 
during  the  raising  of  the  five  million  dollar  memorial 
fund  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  while  I  was 
riding  on  a  train  to  Philadelphia  with  the  late  Wil- 
liam E.  Dodge,  who  had  consented  to  make  an  ad- 
dress in  behalf  of  that  effort,  he  told  me  of  the  in- 
terest which,  as  a  small  boy,  he  had  taken  in  the 
Cornwall  Mission  School.  Taking  another  boy  into 
partnership,  and  obtaining  from  his  father  the  use  of 
a  small  piece  of  land,  he  planted  it  with  potatoes, 
the  avails  of  which  should  be  given  for  the  support 
of  the  Hawaiian  and  Indian  boys  who  were  to  be 
missionaries  to  their  people.  It  w^as  a  low-lying  patch 
of  ground,  and  the  little  fellows  had  a  hard  task  in 
subduing  the  grass  and  weeds.  But  it  was  a  dry 
season,  and  while  this  little  field  produced  a  splendid 
crop,  the  general  product  on  upland  farms  was  scanty 

248 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

and  the  boys  realized  a  good  price.  "Never  have  I 
seen  a  prouder  day,"  said  Mr.  Dodge,  "than  when, 
whip  in  hand,  I  walked  beside  the  ox-cart  and  drove 
those  potatoes  to  market.  And  it  was  there,"  added 
the  distinguished  merchant  prince,  "that  I  learned 
the  joy  of  giving  for  the  cause  of  Christ." 

Probably  no  other  school  so  mixed  in  color,  race 
and  speech  was  ever  seen  before  or  since,  as  that  at 
Cornwall.  Of  the  ninety  or  one  hundred  students 
there  taught,  eight  were  Hawaiians,  two  were 
Greeks  whom  Pliny  Fisk  had  found  at  Malta,  three 
were  Chinese,  three  or  four  were  from  India,  two 
from  the  Society  Islands,  and  one  from  Portugal. 
But  the  majority  were  from  different  tribes  of 
American  Indians  in  the  eastern  and  middle  states 
and  Canada,  and  especially  from  the  Cherokee,  Choc- 
taw, Osage  and  Miami  reservations  of  the  South  and 
West.  At  the  annual  examinations  it  was  not  un- 
common for  the  people  of  Cornwall  to  listen  to  a 
Pentecostal  variety  of  speeches  in  eight  or  ten  dif- 
ferent tongues. 

Hampton  and  Carlisle  were  anticipated  in  the  in- 
troduction of  an  industrial  element.  Indeed,  with 
support  drawn  largely  from  the  farming  communi- 
ties of  Connecticut,  the  situation  would  have  been 
absurd  if  the  boys  had  not  been  required  to  work 
their  little  farm  and  attend  to  most  of  their  own  daily 
wants.  The  pernicious  practice  which  has  obtained 
in  some  modern  missions,  of  hiring  servants  to  per- 
form the  menial  work  of  charity  students,  finds  no 

249 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

warrant  in  the  example  at  Cornwall.  In  the  vaca- 
tions the  boys  were  generally  employed  on  farms  or 
in  learning  some  mechanical  art. 

In  February,  1818,  Henry  Obookiah  sickened  of 
typhoid  fever.  The  pastor,  Rev.  Mr.  Stone,  whose 
house  is  still  standing  at  Cornwall,  took  him  to  his 
own  home,  where  every  attention  was  given  him,  but 
his  disease  proved  fatal.  He  had  shown  a  rare  de- 
gree of  Christian  character;  and  as  he  was  now 
twenty-six  years  of  age,  he  had  fondly  hoped  to  be 
one  of  the  first  party  of  missionaries  to  his  native 
land.  In  his  island  home  he  had  looked  forward  to 
religious  work,  but  of  a  very  different  kind.  After 
witnessing  the  murder  of  his  father  and  mother  and 
infant  brother,  he  had  found  asylum  with  an  uncle 
who  was  a  priest  and  who  put  him  in  training  for 
the  same  vocation.  From  this  distasteful  prospect 
he  had  turned  away  with  strong  aversion,  and  find- 
ing occupation  on  a  merchant  vessel,  had  come  to 
America,  little  knowing  what  Providence  had  in 
store  for  him.  But  he  was  not  to  preach  in  Hawaii. 
He  had  already  fulfilled  his  mission.  His  death  and 
the  deep  spiritual  influence  which  he  had  exerted  had 
perhaps  a  greater  effect  upon  the  school  and  upon  the 
church  than  any  living  service  which  he  could  have 
rendered.  A  memoir  was  written  which  aroused  a 
widespread  interest  and  in  one  known  case  led  to  a 
change  in  a  legacy  in  the  interest  of  the  school. 

Step  after  step  followed  fast  in  preparation  for 
the  Sandwich  Island  Mission,  in  which  others  must 

250 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

be  found  to  take  Obookiah's  place.  About  a  year 
after  his  death,  a  young  school  teacher  in  the  neigh- 
boring town  of  Goshen  visited  Cornwall  and  became 
deeply  interested.  In  the  summer  following  (1819) 
an  ordination  service  was  held  at  Goshen,  at  which 
this  young  man,  Hiram  Bingham,  and  his  associate, 
Thurston,  were  set  apart  as  the  first  missionaries  to 
Hawaii.  The  students  went  over  the  hills  en  masse 
to  attend  the  service,  and  the  influence  on  them  may 
be  estimated  by  the  fact  that  four  young  Hawaiians 
and  four  or  five  young  Americans  who  had  been  in 
the  school  accompanied  the  missionaries  when  they 
sailed  from  Boston  in  the  ship  Thaddeus  a  month  or 
two  later.  At  the  little  meeting  held  on  Long  Wharf, 
one  of  the  young  islanders,  Hopoo,  gave  a  farewell 
address  in  English  and  in  Hawaiian. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  trace  the  history  of  some 
of  the  more  prominent  students  as  well  as  that  of  the 
school  enterprise  itself,  but  limits  of  space  forbid. 
It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  after  an  experiment  of  ten 
years,  the  American  Board  was  fully  prepared  to 
abandon  the  general  policy  upon  which  the  school 
was  based.  It  had  begun  to  be  seen  that  youth  taken 
out  of  their  proper  environments  and  trained  for  sev- 
eral years  in  our  American  customs  and  ways  of  liv- 
ing were  likely  to  disappoint  reasonable  expecta- 
tions; that  they  were  qualified  but  also  disqualified, 
for  laboring  among  their  own  people  and  living  in 
full  touch  and  sympathy  with  them;  that  the  same 
amount  of  funds  invested  in  educational  work  on 

251 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

the  different  fields  would  promise  far  greater  results, 
and  that  in  the  development  of  Christian  institutions 
in  heathen  lands,  the  school  and  the  college  as  well  as 
the  Church  must  have  a  large  and  permanent  place. 

Another  difficulty,  though  one  of  minor  impor- 
tance, had  developed  during  the  brief  experiment  at 
Cornwall.  A  young  half-breed  Cherokee  Indian 
who  bore  the  honored  name  of  Elias  Boudinot,  a 
youth  of  fine  abilities  and  pleasing  address,  won  the 
affections  of  a  young  lady  belonging  to  a  prominent 
family  in  Cornwall,  and  in  the  midst  of  great  popular 
excitement  and  strong  opposition,  accompanied  by 
much  bitter  newspaper  comment  and  correspondence, 
the  two  were  married.  In  other  cases  also  it  was 
alleged  that  dangerous  attachments  sprang  up.  As  a 
result  in  Cornwall  and  the  neighboring  communities 
a  strong  prejudice  was  awakened  against  the  school, 
and  this,  too,  was  a  difficulty  which  has  had  many 
subsequent  counterparts. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Board  at  Northampton  in 
1825,  a  large  part  of  the  session  was  occupied  with 
discussion  upon  the  Cornwall  school,  Secretary  Jere- 
miah Evarts  leading  the  opposition  to  its  continu- 
ance, and  Rev.  Lyman  Beecher  pleading  earnestly 
and  persistently  in  its  behalf.  After  a  series  of  refer- 
ences to  committees,  whose  careful  investigations  ex- 
tended over  a  year,  the  conclusion  was  reached  that 
it  should  be  given  up. 

No  missionary  board  or  society  has  ever  found 
reason  to  dissent  from  the  wisdom  of  that  decision. 

252 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

Nevertheless  there  has  continued  to  be  a  certain 
fascination  about  the  idea  of  training  heathen  or 
other  non-Christian  youth  here  for  a  supposed  ser- 
vice in  their  own  land.  People  are  interested  in  what 
they  see  and  hear,  and  the  best  work  of  the  best  in- 
stitutions in  far-off  Turkey  or  Persia  or  India  can 
scarcely  elicit  the  same  interest  that  attaches  to  the 
personal  plans  and  appeals  of  a  visible  Persian  or 
Armenian,  however  unknown  and  however  uncertain 
his  future  career.  In  Obookiah's  day  there  were  no 
missionary  schools  and  colleges  in  Hawaii  or  any 
other  heathen  land.  Then  his  advent  and  that  of 
others  wrought  great  good.  Now  Hawaii  is  the 
place  to  educate  Hawaiians.  What  Providence  really 
sent  him  for  was  to  educate  the  American  churches. 


253 


THE    ACQUISITION    OF    THE    SPANISH 

COLONIES  FROM  A  MISSIONARY 

STANDPOINT 

The  great  body  of  the  American  people,  save  the 
soldiers  who  have  fought  so  bravely,  and  the  sorrow- 
ing kindred,  who  mourn  the  untimely  death  of  sons  or 
husbands,  have  scarcely  felt  the  shock  of  "The  Hun- 
dred Days'  War"  with  Spain.  Our  shores  have  not 
been  invaded  by  hostile  armies;  there  has  been  no 
perceptible  interference  with  the  general  prosperity 
of  the  country;  and  yet  seldom  have  issues  so  mo- 
mentous been  decided. 

When  the  conflict  first  seemed  impending,  Chris- 
tian men  generally  deprecated  it,  the  better  class  of 
citizens  despised  the  reckless  and  mendacious  in- 
cendiarism of  the  ''yellow  journals,"  and  in  every 
pulpit  and  every  prayer  circle,  supplications  were  of- 
fered that  peace  with  justice  and  honor  might  be 
maintained.  President  McKinley  did  all  in  his  power 
to  avert  the  calamities  of  war.  Any  European  gov- 
ernment would  have  followed  the  cold-blooded  mur- 
der of  the  two  hundred  and  fifty-six  officers  and  men 
of  the  "Maine"  with  swift  vengeance.  But  our 
Cabinet    and    our    citizens    generally,    manifested 

254 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

a  patient  and  dignified  reserve,  till  the  facts  could  if 
possible  be  ascertained.  Even  the  effrontery  of  the 
false  report  of  the  Spanish  investigation  v^as  waived 
as  a  matter  of  secondary  consideration,  while  the  one 
question  of  putting  an  end  to  a  tyranny  of  four  cen- 
turies, and  emancipating  a  crushed  and  struggling 
people  came  to  the  front.  Had  Spain  heeded  the 
demand  for  the  release  of  Cuba  there  would  have 
been  no  conflict.  The  destruction  of  the  "Maine" 
would  have  remained  unavenged,  and  Spain  would 
have  lost  no  further  territory  in  either  hemisphere. 
Just  there  was  the  pivotal  question  of  the  war.  All 
attempts  to  show  that  it  was  undertaken  as  a  political 
measure,  or  in  the  interest  of  business  speculation, 
or  for  territorial  expansion,  or  to  gratify  the  ambi- 
tion of  military  aspirants,  or  to  increase  the  prestige 
of  our  navy,  are  as  futile  as  they  are  sinister.  When 
the  die  was  cast  by  Spain's  refusal,  our  people  rallied 
with  rare  unanimity,  though  with  the  understanding 
that  they  had  nothing  to  gain,  that  they  would  all  be 
more  heavily  taxed,  that  thousands  must  endure  the 
hardships  of  war,  and  many  must  sacrifice  their  lives. 
Mohammedan  nations  are  lured  to  battle  by  the 
prospect  of  booty  and  female  slaves,  if  their  lives 
are  spared,  or  the  delights  of  a  sensual  paradise  if 
they  die.  The  Spanish  conquerors  who  four  cen- 
turies ago  over-ran  Cuba  and  nearly  all  the  Western 
hemisphere,  were  inspired  by  a  hope  of  boundless 
gold  and  silver.     The  rank  and  file  of  continental 

255 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

European  armies  enter  upon  wars  of  invasion  only 
as  a  part  of  enforced  military  service.  But  it  may 
be  doubted  whether  any  government  ever  entered 
upon  a  foreign  war  with  so  little  prospect  of  self- 
aggrandisement  as  was  presented  by  this  war  with 
Spain.  The  key-note  of  the  President's  message  to 
Congress  and  of  his  declaration  of  war  was  that  of 
philanthropy.  Both  were  of  the  nature  of  an  appeal 
for  humanity,  and  such  was  the  appeal  that  was  so 
generously  responded  to.  Thoughtful  people  soon 
came  to  feel  that  over  and  above,  or  rather  perhaps 
underlying  the  action  of  President  and  Congress, 
there  were  great  providential  designs  far  transcend- 
ing the  forecast  of  the  Government  and  the  public 
press.  From  the  start  everything  assumed  grander 
proportions  than  had  been  expected.  The  Govern- 
ment had  no  plan  for  Porto  Rico.  Manila  and  the 
Ladrones  had  scarcely  been  thought  of  by  the  people 
at  large,  and  it  may  be  doubted  whether  the  cabinet 
had  any  thought  of  national  aggrandisement. 

The  object  which  it  seemed  indispensable  to  ac- 
complish in  the  far  East  was  the  destruction  of 
Spain's  Pacific  fleet,  which  if  spared  might  work 
destruction  not  only  to  our  mercantile  marine,  but 
to  our  defenceless  Pacific  coast.  The  complete  an- 
nihilation of  the  Spanish  fleet  and  that  by  a  single 
conflict  of  a  few  hours  in  Manila  harbor,  was  scarcely 
to  be  expected.  The  event  transcended  all  planning 
and  all  expectation,  not  only  in  its  completeness  but 
in  the  consequences  which   it  entailed.     Admiral 

256 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

Dewey's  decisive  victory  on  May  ist  not  merely  des- 
troyed the  hostile  fleet,  but  left  the  Philippine  Archi- 
pelago a  helpless  dependency  on  our  hands.  In  the 
destruction  of  her  fleet  as  a  military  necessity,  we 
had  rendered  it  impossible  for  Spain  to  govern  the 
islands,  and  according  to  the  laws  of  law,  no  other 
power  had  any  right  to  interfere.  It  was  evident 
that  the  withdrawal  of  our  forces  would  leave  the 
Philippines  in  a  worse  condition  than  before,  ex- 
posed to  intestine  strife,  only  to  be  followed  by  the 
reckless  scramble  and  perhaps  bloody  conflict  of  the 
European  powers. 

A  still  further  question  had  been  precipitated  by 
our  carrying  the  war  into  the  Pacific.  Hawaii, 
which  we  had  been  compelled  to  use  as  a  sort  of  half- 
way station  in  the  transportation  of  troops,  was 
placed  in  the  sharp  dilemma  of  either  shutting  her 
ports  against  our  war  vessels  or  exposing  herself  as 
an  outlaw  against  the  international  principle  of  neu- 
trality. The  responsibility  of  this  awkward  situa- 
tion was  wholly  ours.  We  had  placed  ourselves  in 
check,  so  to  speak,  and  the  only  way  of  escape  was 
by  annexation.  The  same  Providence  which  had 
been  working  and  planning  for  Hawaii  through 
three-quarters  of  a  century  now  again  interposed, 
and  settled  the  annexation  question  in  a  way  least 
expected. 

But  the  most  striking  element  in  this  three  months' 
history  is  the  way  in  which  Providence  seems  to  have 
held  us  to  the  logical  conclusions  of  our  own  pro- 

257 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

fessed  aim  and  intent.  We  had  proclaimed  to  the 
world  that  we  were  moved  by  broad  considerations 
of  humanity.  Cuba  was  merely  a  specialization  of 
the  principle,  and  it  was  the  great  principle,  and  not 
the  mere  geographical  situation  of  an  island,  that  was 
supreme.  We  had  only  thought  of  Cuba,  but  it  now 
looks  very  much  as  if  God  had  thought  of  something 
more.  Our  enemy  was  guilty  of  other  oppressions  in 
the  Eastern  hemisphere  as  well  as  in  the  Western, 
and,  as  divine  ordering  would  have  it,  we  had  made 
our  conquest  in  the  East  before  Cuba  was  even 
touched,  and  by  common  consent  there  was  greater 
need  than  in  the  Antilles.  What  was  it  then  that  we 
had  been  fighting  for  ?  Was  it  really  for  the  uplift- 
ing of  humanity  wherever  oppressed,  or  was  it  for 
some  narrower  and  more  selfish  consideration  grow- 
ing out  of  mere  vicinage  and  the  embarrassment  of 
having  a  disagreeable  neighbor  ?  Judging  from  the 
standpoint  of  foreign  missions  we  must  refuse  to 
consider  the  question  of  near  or  far,  and  we  must 
repudiate  the  argument  of  those,  some  of  them  the 
very  best  of  men,  who  claim  that  because  our  Gov- 
ernment had  only  mentioned  Cuba,  that,  therefore,  it 
was  pledged  to  carry  its  conquest  no  further. 

Some  of  the  arguments  which  have  been  used  of 
late  in  dealing  with  the  questions  of  our  relations  to 
our  Spanish  conquest  would  lie  equally  against  the 
whole  work  of  foreign  missions.  The  claim  that 
we  set  out  to  free  the  Cubans  who  are  near  our 
shores,  and  with  whom  we  have  to  do  commercially, 

258 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

and  that  we  have  no  right  to  interfere  with  the  out- 
lying barbarous  races  in  the  Eastern  seas,  is  only  a 
varied  application  of  the  trite  dictum,  ''we  have  the 
heathen  at  our  door  and  our  only  duty  is  to  them." 
Another  argument  often  presented  of  late  is  that 
these  ignorant  tropical  people,  whether  in  the  East 
or  in  the  West  are  not  worth  the  outlay.  Touching 
contrasts  have  been  drawn  between  the  value  of  ''one 
American  soldier  sacrificed  in  battle,  and  hundreds 
of  shiftless  Cubans."  This  kind  of  reasoning  is  also 
familiar  to  those  who  are  engaged  in  missions. 
Eloquent  ridicule  has  been  poured  upon  the  "attempt 
to  convert  men  who  have  no  souls."  Missionary 
effort  in  behalf  of  the  "bestial  Hottentot,"  or  the 
"missing  link,"  "the  buck  Indian,"  "the  heathen  Chi- 
nee" has  been  subjected  to  jeers  and  bitter  contempt. 
But  can  we  forget  that  the  heathen  are  loved,  not  for 
what  they  are,  but  for  what  grace  can  make  of  them  ? 
Can  we  forget  that  God's  love  even  for  His  church 
is  based  not  so  much  upon  a  present  estimate,  as 
upon  that  of  a  glorious  perspective  in  which  a  thou- 
sand years  are  but  as  one  day?  The  thousands  of 
missionaries  who  from  the  time  of  Paul  and  of  Titus 
in  the  Island  of  Crete,  down  to  those  who  have  re- 
cently consecrated  their  lives  to  the  dwarfs  of  West 
Africa,  rise  up  as  witnesses  and  put  to  shame  the 
argument  that  the  United  States  have  been  squander- 
ing their  resources  for  the  benefit  of  worthless  peo- 
ple. If  we  are  right  in  believing  that  this  has  been 
a  providential  war,  that  the  hand  of  God  has  been 

259 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

in  the  marvelous  victories  which  have  been  gained 
with  such  celerity  and  with  comparatively  so  little 
expenditure,  we  may  conclude  that  it  was  in  effect 
a  missionary  war.  If  missions  are  simply  a  current 
work  of  God's  providence  for  the  redemption  of  the 
world,  then  we  have  fought  not  merely  for  the  Cu- 
bans of  to-day  or  the  Filipinos  of  to-day,  but  for  the 
coming  generations  in  these  tropical  island  groups. 
We  have  lifted  the  arm  of  justice  not  merely  against 
the  recent  atrocities  of  Gen.  Weyler,  but  against  the 
tyranny  of  four  centuries.  The  real  question  has 
been  whether  Cuba  shall  remain  for  four  centuries 
more  as  in  the  past,  or  shall  take  her  place  among 
the  enlightened  and  prosperous  nations  of  the  earth, 
and  whether  the  papal  hierarchy  under  the  flag  of 
an  effete  nation  shall  long  continue  to  oppress  the 
Philippines  as  in  the  past,  or  whether  the  standard 
of  liberty,  good  government  and  Christian  regenera- 
tion shall  be  raised. 

There  was  still  another  significant  providential 
force  which  seemed  to  urge  upon  the  United  States 
the  crusade  which  it  has  undertaken  with  so  great 
success.  Three  or  four  years  ago  the  Christian  world 
witnessed  atrocities  among  the  Armenians  which 
were  a  disgrace  to  the  century  in  which  we  live,  while 
Christian  nations  looked  upon  the  slaughter  with 
folded  arms.  In  this  country  there  was  a  universal 
outburst  of  indignation,  and  from  the  pulpit  and  the 
press  condemnation  was  poured  upon  the  cold  and 
heartless  policy  of  the  great  Powers  across  the  ocean 

260 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

which  held  each  other  in  a  deadlock  of  inaction.  The 
outrage  seemed  aggravated  still  further  when  these 
same  Powers  virtually  abetted  the  Turk  in  his  war 
upon  the  helpless  Greeks.  Comparing  these  things 
with  the  more  practical  sympathy  which  at  earlier 
periods  had  been  shown  for  the  oppressed  of  Turkey 
and  the  slaughtered  Greeks  of  Scio  and  Missilonghi, 
it  seemed  as  if  the  shadow  on  the  dial  was  turning 
back,  and  the  Christian  world  was  returning  to  the 
spirit  of  the  dark  ages.  Humanity  had  apparently 
become  subordinate  to  political  interests,  and  com- 
mon ethics  had  disappeared  from  the  policy  of  gov- 
ernments. France  had  years  ago  been  guilty  of  un- 
speakable outrages  upon  the  weaker  government  of 
Madagascar,  and  later  upon  that  of  Siam.  Russia 
with  the  menace  of  brute  force  had  driven  Japan 
from  Port  Arthur  and  occupied  the  position  herself, 
and  the  "mailed  fist"  of  Germany  had  with  indecent 
haste  wrested  half  a  province  from  China  upon  the 
smallest  possible  pretext.  "Might  makes  right"  had 
become  practically  the  motto  of  Christendom.  But 
in  answer  to  the  universal  condemnation  expressed 
in  America  by  pulpit  and  press,  came  back  the  retort, 
"How  about  Cuba,  ninety  miles  only  from  your  own 
boasted  land  of  freedom  ?  We  are  hampered  by  in- 
ternational complications  which  you  cannot  appreci- 
ate, while  your  course  is  clear,  and  you  have  no  ex- 
cuse for  your  unsympathizing  and  inhuman  neglect." 
We  were  shut  up  to  the  plain  logic  of  all  that  we 
had  said.    We  stood  self-convicted  before  all  man- 

261 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

kind.  For  the  emancipation  of  humanity  we  were 
Hke  Israel  driven  into  the  sea  by  forces  which  we 
could  not  control.  We  can  understand  it  now.  This 
nation  was  placed  in  the  vanguard  of  anew  and  holier 
crusade  of  the  Twentieth  Century.  As  Victor  Hugo 
would  have  expressed  it,  the  eternal  fitness  of  things 
had  issued  its  decree  against  the  old  selfish  policies, 
and  had  inaugurated  this  new  principle  of  national 
morality,  namely — that  no  more  can  a  Christian  na- 
tion than  a  Christian  man,  live  unto  itself  or  die  unto 
itself. 

I  am  not  advocating  any  particular  theory  for  the 
government  of  Porto  Rico  or  the  Philippines.  It 
seems  probable  that  for  the  latter  at  least  a  protecto- 
rate may  be  the  only  ultimate  basis  of  control ;  but  we 
are  dealing  with  a  situation.  The  Philippines  are 
actually  under  the  flag  of  the  United  States,  and  on 
the  American  people  rests  the  responsibility  of  either 
maintaining  order  and  justice  and  protection,  or  of 
surrendering  them  to  worse  chances  than  those  from 
which  they  have  been  delivered.  Especially  does  it 
become  the  Christian  people  of  this  country  to  ask 
what  are  the  duties  which  the  interests  of  Christ's 
advancing  kingdom  now  lay  upon  us.  Mr.  Bryce, 
whose  published  works  have  shown  so  wide  and  so  ac- 
curate a  knowledge  of  our  institutions,  has  said  that 
very  evidently  the  great  American  Republic  is  des- 
tined now  to  take  a  larger  place  and  exert  a  wider 
influence  in  the  affairs  of  mankind,  and  is  no  longer 
to  be  shut  up  within  her  own  boundaries  and  to  her 

262 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

own  selfish  interests.  It  is  significant  that  this  belief, 
very  grateful  to  all  Englishmen  and  very  distasteful 
to  all  lovers  of  continental  absolutism,  has  been  gen- 
eral among  thinking  men. 

There  are  some  special  grounds  of  belief  that  the 
missionary  influence  of  the  American  churches  will 
be  greatly  increased  by  the  remarkable  changes 
which  have  been  wrought  in  our  national  prestige. 
It  cannot  be  denied  that  politically  and  diplomatically 
the  American  government  has  exerted  but  a  slight  in- 
fluence in  many  of  the  great  and  difficult  questions 
which  have  stirred  the  Eastern  Hemisphere.  In  re- 
peated instances  the  efforts  of  an  American  minister 
at  the  Sublime  Porte  have  been  snubbed  or  ignored 
when  the  sharp  demands  of  a  first  class  European 
power  would  have  been  granted.  In  various  prov- 
inces of  China  an  American  Consul  has  often  been 
baffled  by  official  indifference  or  harassing  delays, 
when  a  French  or  Russian  or  British  Consul  would 
have  gained  his  point  promptly.  The  United  States 
have  scarcely  been  recognized  as  a  naval  power. 

We  would  not  advocate  the  use  of  gun-boats  in 
the  propagation  of  missionary  enterprise,  but  the 
prestige  of  naval  power  is  certainly  of  value.  It  is  the 
only  diplomatic  argument  that  a  power  like  the  Turk- 
ish Empire  can  comprehend.  It  may  often  be  a  means 
of  maintaining  peace.  It  should  be  understood  that 
the  United  States  Government  is  able  to  defend  all 
its  citizens,  missionaries  or  otherwise,  as  citizens, 
and  that  on  its  own  impulse.    Already  the  late  vic- 

263 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

tories  of  the  United  States  over  Spain  have  had  their 
influence.  A  correspondent  writing  from  the  Le- 
vant said  in  a  recent  letter :  "How  this  late  war  has 
raised  America  among  the  nations !  Even  the  Turks 
and  Syrian  Moslems  thank  Allah  for  giving  us  the 
victory  over  their  foes  of  Andalusia.  I  do  not  be- 
lieve in  booming  missions  with  gun-boats,  but  since 
the  United  States  have  already  demanded  indemnity 
from  the  Sultan  for  the  loss  of  property,  they  cannot 
back  down.  A  simple  intimation  that  Admiral 
Sampson's  fleet  was  coaling  up  for  Smyrna  would 
cause  that  indemnity  to  be  paid  in  twenty-four  hours 
and  the  fleet  could  stay  at  home." 

There  is  another  thing  which  is  worth  considering 
from  a  missionary  point  of  view,  and  that  is  the  limi- 
tation which  may  be  put  upon  the  access  of  Ameri- 
can missionaries  to  the  depressed  races  of  the  world. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  all  or  nearly 
all  of  the  outlying  realms  of  heathendom  will 
soon  be  brought  under  the  various  flags  of 
the  civilized  nations.  Looking  far  ahead  what 
will  be  the  probable  effect  of  all  this  upon 
American  Missions?  Could  we  be  assured  that  the 
Philippines  and  Hainan,  Korea  and  Cambodia,  the 
Shan  States  and  the  dismembered  Chinese  Empire, 
would  all  be  held  under  British  protectorates,  we 
should  have  no  concern  about  open  doors  for  our 
missionary  labors.  But  if  Russia  or  France  should 
possess  the  Philippines  they  would  be  about  as  in- 
accessible as  they  have  been  under  Spain.    The  well- 

264 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

known  policy  of  Russia  in  excluding  missionary  op- 
erations from  her  own  territory  will  undoubtedly 
prevail  in  all  her  dependencies.  The  Presbyterian 
Board  has  virtually  been  driven  from  the  Ogowe  be- 
cause it  is  claimed  as  French  territory.  In  the  Ger- 
man possessions  of  West  Africa  there  is  also  more  or 
less  of  restriction. 

With  respect  to  the  Philippines  the  momentous 
question  now  being  decided  is — shall  that  great  archi- 
pelago ever  be  opened  to  British  or  American  Mis- 
sions ?  Shall  the  elevating  influence  of  Anglo-Saxon 
civilization  with  its  free  institutions  and  its  intel- 
lectual and  moral  stimulus  ever  be  admitted?  It  is 
the  opinion  of  all  intelligent  judges  of  the  situation 
that  any  attempt  to  place  the  islands  under  the  Brit- 
ish flag  would  precipitate  a  European  war.  On  the 
other  hand  were  the  United  States  soon  to  abandon 
the  islands,  savage  intestine  conflicts  would  follow, 
the  very  thought  of  which  almost  causes  a  shudder. 
Mexico  as  an  independent  republic  passed  through 
fifty  years  of  chaotic  struggles,  of  revolutions  and 
dictatorships,  prommciamentos,  brigandage  and 
intrigue,  before  stable  government  and  general 
prosperity  were  secured;  and  in  the  Philippines  the 
chances  would  be  still  worse ;  there  is  a  profounder 
ignorance  and  far  less  of  national  cohesion.  In  the 
end  and  not  very  far  hence  there  would  be  European 
interventions,  and  then  too  there  would  probably  be  a 
European  war. 

A  congress  of  the  powers  and  the  establishment 
265 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

of  another  ''Congo  Free  State"  have  been  suggested. 
But  the  experiment  now  being  tried  in  the  heart  of 
Africa,  certainly  precarious  enough,  and  only 
kept  alive  by  the  special  guardianship  and  financial 
sacrifices  of  a  government  of  which  nobody  is  jeal- 
ous, affords  little  warrant  for  the  success  of  such  a 
state  in  a  group  of  some  hundreds  of  scattered  is- 
lands, guarded  by  half  a  dozen  European  navies 
moved  only  by  one  common  element  of  mutual  dis- 
trust. The  major  verdict  of  thoughtful  men  seems  to 
be  that  God  in  his  providence  has  laid  a  burden  of 
moral  responsibility  upon  the  United  States  which 
should  be  met  in  the  interest — whether  including 
their  own  interests  or  not — in  the  interest  of  hu- 
manity. 

But  has  a  nation,  as  well  as  an  individual,  any 
such  thing  as  moral  obligation?  Precisely  that  is 
the  question  now  at  issue,  and  it  should  be  settled. 
The  old  prophets  of  Israel  plainly  taught  that  it  has : 
modern  diplomacy  has  practically  maintained  that  it 
has  not. 

It  is  also  for  the  best  interest  of  this  nation.  Our 
national  selfishness  would  turn  to  mold  and  mildew 
if  we  were  shut  up  to  ourselves.  The  mighty  ener- 
gies that  are  fast  accumulating  on  this  continent 
must  find  an  outlet  along  some  line  of  ennobling 
activity  or  they  will  work  destruction  to  our  institu- 
tions. As  a  broad  and  universal  truth,  the  nations 
which  have  undertaken  to  maintain  their  isolation 
have  not  prospered.    Japan  which  threw  open  her 

266 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

doors  forty  years  ago  has  made  greater  advances 
since  that  time  than  in  any  five  centuries  of  previous 
history.  Korea,  notwithstanding  the  vigor  of  the 
Korean  race  and  the  splenHd  resources  of  the  coun- 
try, is  weak  and  helpless,  largely  as  a  result  of  her 
isolation.  China,  which  has  longest  contended  for 
her  own  self-sufficiency  and  conservatism  is  on  the 
eve  of  dissolution.  On  the  other  hand  the  nations 
which  have  borne  the  largest  part  in  the  commerce 
and  intercourse  of  the  world,  have  in  proportion  to 
their  territory  and  population  been  the  most  prosper- 
ous. This  was  true  of  Phenicia,  holding  at  first  only 
a  narrow  strip  of  territory,  on  the  Syrian  coast.  It 
was  true  of  the  Venetians  who  possessed  no  country 
but  the  sandy  lagoons  on  which  they  had  taken  ref- 
uge. It  was  true  of  Holland  and  of  Portugal,  and 
last  of  all  of  Great  Britain.  Had  the  inhabitants  of 
the  British  Isles  shut  themselves  up  within  their  own 
boundaries,  and  been  simply  a  nation  of  farmers  or 
pale-faced  weavers  of  fabrics,  or  tradesmen  with  for- 
eign lands,  they  would  have  been  a  very  different 
race.  The  India  civil  service,  the  military  service  by 
land  and  sea,  the  call  for  brawn  and  muscle  and 
brain,  for  hardship  and  self-sacrifice,  in  many  lands 
and  climes,  has  done  more  for  British  manhood  than 
would  ever  have  been  possible  had  Great  Brit- 
ain been  figuratively  surrounded  by  a  Chinese  wall. 
Provided  always  that  this  nation  is  guided  by  sen- 
timents of  reverence  toward  God  and  his  eternal 
truth,  I  see  no  reason  to  fear  for  the  future.    If  no 

267 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

sentiment  of  philanthropy  were  allowed  to  interfere 
with  a  narrow  and  selfish  policy,  if  political  partisan- 
ship were  to  be  stronger  than  patriotism,  if  sectional 
interests  or  class  prejudices  were  to  prevail  over  all 
other  considerations,  then  there  were  grave  danger 
ahead  whether  our  territories  are  great  or  small.  For 
the  last  five  years  there  has  been  great  apprehension 
in  regard  to  the  perpetuity  of  our  democratic  institu- 
tions. The  national  issues  of  1896  seemed  alarming. 
It  was  not  expansion  that  was  feared :  it  was  conges- 
tion. It  was  the  internal  strife  of  clashing  interests 
— labor  against  capital,  silver  against  gold,  the  West 
against  the  East,  the  South  against  the  North.  It  was 
the  corruption  of  municipal  governments,  the  over- 
reaching rapacity  of  trusts,  the  omnipotence  of  the 
liquor  interest,  the  venality  of  legislation  and  the 
general  manipulation  of  politics.  The  question  asked 
by  foreign  observers  and  by  not  a  few  of  our  own 
citizens  was  **can  democratic  self-government  long 
survive  under  such  conditions?"  In  contrast  with 
all  this  the  late  war  with  Spain  instead  of  increasing 
the  general  sense  of  danger,  seems  to  many  to  have 
brought  a  new  measure  of  hope.  It  has  revealed  the 
hand  of  a  divine  Providence  in  our  national  affairs 
and  thus  inspired  our  trust ;  it  has  given  new  encour- 
agement to  the  West  and  overcome  its  jealousy  of 
the  East:  it  has  allayed  the  animosities  of  classes 
and  arrayed  men  of  every  rank  and  calling  in  the 
common  defence  of  our  flag;  it  has  stirred  nobler 
sentiments   than   those   of   self -aggrandisement   or 

268 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

class  aggrandisement:  it  has  given  to  compatriots 
from  every  section  an  increased  mutual  confidence 
and  respect  and  new  hope  for  the  republic.  Mr.  Ben- 
jamin Kidd  has  said  that  altruism  is  the  coming 
watchword  of  this  age  and  he  is  partly  right.  From 
the  still  higher  standpoint  of  Christianity  the  Son  of 
Man  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto  but  to  minister : 
and  this  is  the  highest  duty  of  the  individual  man — 
the  highest  duty  of  a  nation. 


269 


AN  ANGLO-SAXON  ALLIANCE  IN  FOREIGN 
MISSIONS 

The  friendly  tone  of  the  British  press,  religious 
and  secular,  has  been  very  marked  since  the  year 
1898.  While  the  importance  of  an  American  politi- 
cal alliance,  formal  or  informal,  to  British  interests, 
has  doubtless  been  more  or  less  in  the  minds  of  the 
statesmen  and  publicists  who  have  made  friendly  ad- 
vances toward  us  since  the  splendid  naval  victories 
at  Manila  and  at  Santiago  de  Cuba,  yet  none  can  ques- 
tion the  existence  of  a  far  deeper  and  more  sacred 
bond  of  friendship  and  sympathy.  The  unity  based 
on  blood  relationship,  common  origin,  identity  of 
language,  a  joint  and  blended  literature,  similar  so- 
cial customs,  a  like  Protestant  faith,  and  above  all, 
a  oneness  of  high  and  earnest  missionary  character 
and  purpose — such  unity,  so  diversified  and  com- 
bined, is  stronger  as  a  moral  bond  than  all  commer- 
cial interests.  It  is  too  strong  to  be  overcome  by 
geographical  boundaries  or  possible  jealousies.  It 
is  in  no  spirit  of  mere  sentiment,  much  less  of  exulta- 
tion, that  we  cherish  the  belief  that  the  Protestant 
Anglo-Saxon  nations  have  a  peculiar  mission  in  the 
interest  of  humanity,  education,  and  the  inculcation 

270 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

of  religious  truth  in  the  world.  The  experience  of 
American  missions  in  many  lands  has  shown  that 
this  is  not  a  mere  empty  sentiment.  It  has  been 
found  that  wherever  the  flag  of  Great  Britain  waves, 
on  any  continent  or  island  of  the  sea,  there  American 
missionaries  can  labor  with  less  of  hindrance,  and 
more  of  positive  help  and  co-operation,  than  under 
any  other  flag  of  foreign  nations. 

Christian  civilians  in  India,  at  least  since  the  sor- 
did regime  of  the  old  East  India  Company  was 
broken,  have  not  failed  to  lend  their  influence  and 
their  hearty  sympathy,  to  every  effort  of  our  Ameri- 
can missionaries.  The  Anglo-Indian  Government 
has  cheerfully  granted  subsidies  in  aid  of  our  educa- 
tional work,  and  men  of  means  have  given  largely 
for  the  support  of  our  medical  missions  and  our  va- 
rious eleemosynary  institutions.  Great  and  good 
men  have  also  contributed  for  the  directly  spiritual 
work  of  our  missions. 

And  not  only  in  India,  but  in  other  lands  where  our 
consular  service  was  weak,  or  where  no  American 
diplomatic  representative  was  present,  the  high  of- 
ficers of  the  British  Government  have  generously  ex- 
tended their  protection  and  lent  their  aid  to  our  mis- 
sionaries and  their  work;  this  has  been  the  case  nota- 
bly in  the  Turkish  Empire.  A  half  century  ago 
American  missions  derived  great  advantages  from 
the  diplomatic  intervention  of  Sir  Stratford  de  Red- 
cliffe.  Long  ago  also  there  was  established  in  Eng- 
land a  Turkish  Missions  Aid  Society,  which  contrib- 

271 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

uted  its  funds  through  the  instrumentaHties  of  the 
American  Board.  In  relation  to  the  liquor  traffic, 
which  has  devastated  our  mission  stations  in  West 
Africa  and  in  the  Pacific  islands — a  traffic  supported 
to  a  large  extent  by  American  citizens — Great  Brit- 
ain has  at  times  been  more  ready  to  join  in  the  sup- 
pression of  the  evil  than  our  ow^n  government.  Such 
manifestations  of  sympathy  and  aid  have  been  ten- 
dered in  no  other  land  held  by  European  powers. 
The  obstacles  and  restrictions  placed  by  the  French 
government  upon  our  missions  on  the  Ogowe  in 
West  Africa  have  been  such  as  to  compel  our  with- 
drawal from  that  region,  except  to  aid  by  a  stipend 
the  French  Protestant  mission  which  has  taken  our 
place.  In  the  German  protectorate  at  Batanga  there 
is  more  freedom,  and  yet  there  is  more  or  less  of  re- 
striction. 

As  for  Russia,  the  venerable  Dr.  Cyrus  Hamlin 
has  often  declared  that  greater  liberty  was  afforded 
the  American  missionaries  under  the  Turkish  than 
could  be  gained  under  the  Russian  flag.  The  Rus- 
sian civil  government  and  the  headship  of  the  Russo- 
Greek  church  are  in  effect  one  and  inseparable.  Re- 
ligion is  employed  as  assiduously  in  advancing  the 
sceptre  of  the  Czar  as  is  the  army  or  the  navy.  Not 
only  is  the  church  influence  established  as  soon  as 
any  new  territory  is  secured,  but  it  is  made  the  avant 
courier  of  political  aggression.  When  far-reaching 
designs  are  formed  for  any  conquest  by  war  or  di- 
plomacy, Greek  church  propagandism  prepares  the 

272 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

way.  Many  years  ago,  when  there  was  more  hope  of 
absorbing  Japan  than  there  is  now,  the  Greek  Bishop 
Nicholai,  with  his  priests,  appeared  among  the  very 
first  missionaries.  Many  months  ago  a  representa- 
tive of  the  Czar's  government  in  Korea  was  suspected 
of  laying  plans  for  supplanting  the  American  mis- 
sionaries by  a  force  of  priests  from  Russia.  And, 
last  of  all,  in  Persia,  where  also  Russia  is  preparing 
for  the  future,  she  is  diligently  seeking  the  total  ab- 
sorption of  the  Nestorian  church.  Now  in  the 
scramble  of  these  Continental  powers  for  the  uncivil- 
ized countries  of  the  heathen  world,  and  in  the  jeal- 
ousy which  they  feel  toward  British  influence  and 
the  increasing  prevalence  of  the  English  language, 
Americans  naturally  come  in  for  a  share  of  distrust. 
Their  kinship  and  their  common  tongue  are  against 
them  in  any  land  not  under  the  British  flag. 

It  is  worthy  of  special  note  that  the  only  free  ac- 
cess which  American  missionaries  have  gained  to 
Mohammedans  has  been  found  in  lands  ruled  by  the 
British  Government.  Everywhere  else  the  remorse- 
less death  sentence  of  Islam  against  all  apostasy  from 
the  false  prophet  has  confronted  them  with  its  in- 
superable barrier.  In  the  Turkish  Empire  and  in 
Persia,  freedom  of  Christian  propagandism  has  been 
allowed  only  among  the  ancient  Christian  sects ;  Mo- 
hammedans have  professed  belief,  if  at  all,  at  the 
peril  of  their  lives.  But  in  India  and  to  some  extent 
in  the  British  protectorates  of  Egypt  and  Uganda, 
Moslems,  in  accepting  the  Christian  faith,  are  safe 

273 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

from  governmental  interference.  With  the  increase 
of  England's  power  on  the  Nile,  and  throughout 
eastern  Soudan,  also  in  Uganda  and  eastward  to  the 
coast  at  Mombasa,  the  long-continued  and  intolerant 
supremacy  of  Islam  must  be  broken.  Religious  lib- 
erty must  attend  civil  liberty  and  enlightenment. 

In  the  French  territory  of  northern  and  north- 
western Africa,  in  the  German  possessions  eastward 
of  the  great  African  lakes,  and  in  Java  and  other  is- 
lands where  Mohammedan  populations  are  found, 
the  arrogance  of  Islam  is  doubtless  held  in  check; 
but  none  of  these  are  open  fields  for  English-speak- 
ing missionaries.  There,  as  in  Arabia,  the  evange- 
lization of  Mohammedans  must  be  greatly  restricted. 
It  will  be  tolerated  only  while  the  work  is  insignifi- 
cantly small  and  uninfluential.  Looking  forward 
then  over  the  next  quarter  of  a  century  the  outlook 
for  either  English  or  American  missions  to  Moham- 
medans seems  confined  to  the  colonies  and  the  Pro- 
tectorates of  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States. 
These  various  mission  fields  bid  fair  to  present  the 
most  hopeful  opportunities  of  all  lands  for  the  evan- 
gelization of  Mohammedans,  and  all  these  seem  "to 
be  specially  indicated  by  Divine  Providence  for  Brit- 
ish and  American  missions.  This  natural  alliance 
should  be  strengthened  by  the  closest  sympathy  and 
the  most  hearty  co-operation. 

And  there  are  not  wanting  indications  that  French 
influence  in  Africa  will  probably  be  throv/n  to  the 
side  of  Mohammedans  as  against  the  English. 

274 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

The  very  latest  communications  through  the  press 
warrant  the  suspicion  that  the  French  intrigue  in  the 
Soudan,  and  its  possible  alliance  with  the  fanaticism 
of  the  Kali  fa  and  his  adherents,  have  caused  Lord 
General  Kitchener  to  assume  a  surprisingly  conserva- 
tive attitude  with  regard  to  the  prospectus  of  the 
Gordon  Memorial  College,  which  he  has  proposed  to 
found  at  Khartoum,  and  to  adopt  the  policy,  mis- 
taken perhaps,  of  discouraging  Christian  mission- 
ary effort,  both  Protestant  and  Catholic,  for  a  time 
at  least.  If  such  a  policy  is  contemplated  the  pub- 
lic sentiment  of  the  British  nation  may  be  heard 
from ;  perhaps  also  some  adverse  deliverances  of  the 
Papal  hierarchy.  Some  caution  may  be  necessary 
as  a  war  measure  till  Soudan  be  fully  subdued,  but 
whatever  action  may  be  taken  as  a  temporary  ex- 
pedient, while  the  British  authority  in  Soudan  is  be- 
ing more  fully  established,  it  can  hardly  be  possible 
that  the  British  Colonial  policy  will  reinstate  the  old 
errors  of  the  British  East  India  Company,  or  at- 
tempt anew  that  system  of  catering  to  heathen  and 
Moslem  fanaticism,  which  in  India  gained  nothing, 
and  came  near  to  losing  everything  in  the  Sepoy  re- 
bellion of  1857.  Undoubtedly  Russia  will  be  ready 
to  take  sides  with  the  Mohammedans  of  Afghanistan 
and  the  border  territories  of  India.  There  also  politi- 
cal necessities  may  have  some  influence  on  British 
policy,  but  we  believe  that  in  the  main  and  as  a  rule, 
absolute  freedom  of  religious  opinion  and  worship 
will  be  the  watchword  in  all  possessions  held  under 

27s 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

Anglo-Saxon  flags.  Plainly,  therefore,  in  their  close 
missionary  co-operation,  it  is  not  to  be  inferred  that 
England  and  America  are  to  establish  anywhere  a 
monopoly  of  English-speaking  Protestant  missions. 
Such  is  not  in  accordance  with  the  genius  of  their 
respective  governments  or  of  their  free  institutions. 
It  is  more  in  keeping  with  the  instincts  of  the  Latin 
or  the  Slavic  races,  and  with  those  types  of  Chris- 
tianity which  for  so  many  ages  have  maintained  a 
close  and  tyrannical  union  between  church  and  state. 
Anglo-Saxon  Protestantism  is  everywhere  tolerant. 
Roman  Catholic  or  Greek  Church  missions  are  al- 
lowed free  scope  throughout  the  Anglo-Saxon  world. 
A  Mohammedan  mosque  freely  advances  its  propa- 
gandism  in  the  city  of  London,  while  in  America, 
Mormonism,  w^ith  an  excess  of  freedom,  is  allowed 
to  threaten  the  very  foundations  of  our  social  and 
political  order.  There  will  be  no  restraint  upon  Ja- 
panese Buddhism  in  Hawaii,  and  whatever  the  Chi- 
nese in  California  may  suffer  from  the  persecutions 
of  the  labor  unions  or  from  legislative  restrictions 
upon  immigration,  there  will  be  no  interference  with 
the  *'joss'  houses,  or  with  the  issue  of  paper  money 
as  offerings  to  heathen  deities.  Liberty,  in  the  larg- 
est sense  and  to  the  greatest  degree  compatible  with 
good  government,  is  the  pride  and  hope  of  English- 
speaking  nations.  Where  this  is  regulated  and  in- 
spired by  the  principles  of  a  pure  Gospel  it  touches 
the  high-water  mark  of  civilization. 

But  without  the  influence  of  Christianity,  west- 
276 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

ern  civilization — even  that  of  the  Anglo-Saxon — 
cannot  inspire  and  elevate  the  depressed  races  of 
men ;  it  is  often  attended  with  positive  disadvantage ; 
mere  unscrupulous  commerce  is  generally  a  curse. 
The  vices  of  civilization  are  sometimes  the  most 
deadly  in  their  influence  upon  simple  and  childlike 
savages.  It  has  been  said  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  that 
*'with  Christianity  he  is  the  best  of  men;  without  it. 
he  is  the  worst."  Surely,  in  aggressive  Christian 
work  in  the  world  he  stands  at  the  head.  I  do  not 
forget  the  pioneer  Danish  missions,  or  the  matchless 
self-denying  zeal  of  the  Moravian  church.  One  can- 
not fail  to  recognize  the  earnest  though  limited  work 
of  the  French  Protestants  in  South  Africa,  or  of  the 
German  and  Scandinavian  missionaries  in  various 
lands,  but  the  great  volume  of  the  Protestant  mis- 
sionary movement  at  the  close  of  the  century  flows 
through  British  and  American  channels.  The  mis- 
sionary task  of  present-day  Protestantism  lies  mainly 
with  these  affiliated  nations  of  a  common  race.  Who- 
ever has  attended  any  of  the  Ecumenical  Missionar}'- 
Conferences  of  the  last  thirty  years,  and  has  studied 
the  summaries  and  statistics  there  presented,  has  be- 
come sufficiently  aware  of  this  fact.  The  more  thor- 
ough and  complete  the  American  and  British  mis- 
sionary co-operation,  therefore,  the  brighter  the  hope 
of  the  world's  evangelization. 

As  an  outcome  of  this  peculiar  situation  it  seems 
likely  that  American  and  British  missionary  enter- 
prises will  be  drawn  more  and  more  closely  together, 

277 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

Africa  is  covered  now  almost  entirely  by  European 
protectorates  with  more  or  less  of  that  international 
jealousy  to  which  reference  has  been  made.  China, 
Manchuria,  Hainan,  and  perhaps  Korea,  seem  des- 
tined to  suffer  a  similar  distribution.  Should  such 
be  the  case,  the  American  foreign  missionary  work  of 
the  Twentieth  Century  must  be  carried  on  mainly 
either  under  our  own  or  under  the  British  flag;  and 
this  relationship  will  be  reciprocal.  The  Anglican 
Church  Missionary  Society  has  already  so  prosper- 
ous a  work  in  Hawaii,  now  an  American  territory, 
that  the  American  Protestant  Episcopal  Church 
seems  inclined  to  leave  the  field  in  its  hands,  while 
Mr.  Duncan,  formerly  of  Metlakatla,  British  Colum- 
bia, professes  to  find  even  greater  freedom  under  the 
United  States  flag  in  Alaska  than  under  that  of  his 
fellow-countrymen. 

In  the  American  protectorate  of  the  Philippines, 
British  missionary  societies  will  be  welcomed,  and 
will  be  accorded  equal  rights  and  privileges.  What- 
ever may  be  true  of  commercial  regulations,  there 
will  certainly  be  an  ''open  door"  to  all,  in  the  one 
great  common  missionary  work.  And  the  same  co- 
operation will  be  welcomed  by  our  Anglo-Saxon 
kinsmen  of  the  British  colonies  in  South  Africa,  and 
Australia. 

At  a  certain  anniversary  of  the  American  Board, 
held  several  years  ago,  an  English  visitor  created 
great  enthusiasm  by  a  friendly  challenge.  He  said, 
in  effect;  "We  cherish  the  warmest  interest  in  your 

278 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

widespread  missionary  work,  and  we  welcome  your 
fellowship  and  co-operation.  Send  forth  your  am- 
bassadors to  the  waste  places  of  the  heathen  world, 
and  we  will  match  you  man  for  man  and  share  with 
you  in  the  blessed  harvest."  It  was  a  challenge  wor- 
thy of  the  nation  from  which  it  came,  and  of  the  na- 
tion to  which  it  came.  It  is  worthy  to  be  ratified 
anew. 

While  the  Ecumenical  Missionary  Conference  in 
London  in  1888  extended  its  cordial  invitations  to  all 
Protestant  missionary  bodies  of  the  world,  the  most 
conspicuous  fact  was  that  so  large  a  part  of  the  great 
ingathering  represented  English-speaking  nations. 

Beloved  brethren  of  the  Protestant  churches  of 
France,  Italy,  Germany,  Switzerland,  Denmark,  and 
Scandinavia  were  warmly  welcomed;  but  so  great 
was  the  preponderance  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  element 
that  the  discussions  were  almost  wholly  in  the  Eng- 
lish tongue.  Not  only  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States,  but  Canada,  India,  Ceylon,  Australia,  South 
Africa,  and  New  Zealand  were  represented  by  dele- 
gates of  the  one  Anglo-Saxon  race.  About  the  same 
time  with  this  interdenominational  missionary  con- 
ference a  Pan- Anglican  conference  of  Bishops  and  a 
council  of  the  Alliance  of  Presbyterian  and  Re- 
formed churches  throughout  the  world  were  also 
held  in  London.  Both  of  these  great  gatherings  bore 
special  testimony  to  the  prepondering  volume  and 
aggressive  force  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  element  in  the 
advancement  of  Protestant  Christianity  in  the  world. 

279 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

The  American  delegates  to  these  great  gatherings 
in  London  felt  it  to  be  a  privilege  to  mingle  with 
their  English  cousins  in  Christian  counsel  and  Chris- 
tian work,  to  enjoy  their  abundant  hospitality,  and 
feel  the  atmosphere  of  their  Christian  homes,  to 
study  their  manifold  religious  and  eleemosynary  in- 
stitutions, and  the  home  life  and  church  life  which 
have  been  bequeathed  to  us.  It  was  like  a  Thanks- 
giving visit  to  the  ancestral  roof — a  family  gather- 
ing of  children  and  grandchildren  from  all  the  Brit- 
ish colonies.  It  was  inspiring  to  visit  the  Great  Ab- 
bey and  be  reminded  that  England's  heroic  history 
was  also  our  history;  her  literature  our  literature; 
her  Bible  our  Bible;  her  struggles  for  civil  and  re- 
ligious liberty  our  struggles;  and  the  rich  heritage 
thus  gained  our  heritage  as  well  as  hers. 

But  it  was  impossible  to  forget  that  it  was  on  the 
religious  side  of  our  kinship  that  this  close  fellowship 
was  realized,  for  it  was  very  apparent  that  the  great 
mass  of  society  little  heeded  our  gatherings.  While  but 
scanty  space  was  given  to  the  conferences  of  churches 
and  missions,  many  columns  were  occupied  with  the 
Ascot  races  and  the  idle  gossip  of  aristocratic  so- 
ciety. 

But  it  is  only  the  missionary  alliance  of  Anglo- 
Saxon  Christians  that  we  are  considering.  The  whole 
problem  is  not  3Tt  grappled  with,  and  the  difficulties 
are  not  yet  all  met.  In  all  the  English-speaking  lands 
above  named,  home  missions  have  yet  a  great  work, 
which  must  progress  side  by  side  with  the  joint  ef- 

280 


OF  MODERN  MISSIONS 

forts  put  forth  in  the  ends  of  the  earth.  Another 
great  rally  of  missionary  forces  is  announced  for  the 
year  1900,  and  this  will  be  held  in  New  York.  There 
will  be  a  reciprocation  of  hospitality,  a  new  discus- 
sion of  plans  and  methods  and  results,  and  we  trust, 
a  closer  co-operation  for  the  conquest  of  the  world 
for  Christ. 

Considering  the  missionary  enterprise  in  all  its 
branches  and  departments — evangelistic,  educational, 
medical,  industrial  and  eleemosynary — its  influence 
in  breaking  down  oppression,  banishing  superstition, 
introducing  improved  sanitation,  alleviating  the  con- 
dition of  womanhood,  childhood,  and  old  age,  in 
overcoming  caste  and  raising  up  the  oppressed  and 
degraded; — considering  all  this  as  a  great  modern 
world  movement,  we  may  safely  assume  that  the 
forces  of  our  Anglo-Saxon  civilization  are  accom- 
plishing a  large  part  in  the  sum  total  of  its  beneficent 
results.  And  it  is  only  in  this  broad  and  inclusive 
survey  that  any  true  conception  of  modern  missions 
can  be  gained.  The  man  who  can  comprehend  it  in 
its  fulness,  can  no  longer  indulge  in  the  delusion  that 
it  is  small,  trivial,  unimportant.  In  the  one  depart- 
ment of  medical  missions,  the  British  and  the  Ameri- 
can, or  the  English-speaking  nations,  are  supplying 
six  hundred  and  sixty,  out  of  the  six  hundred  and 
eighty  Protestant  medical  missionaries  who  are  scat- 
tered over  the  world.  In  the  great  work  of 
education  too  their  place  is  scarcely  less  promi- 
nent,  whether   it   be   in   the   lower   grades   of   in- 

281 


QUESTIONS  AND  PHASES 

struction,  or  in  the  higher  seminaries  and  colleges. 
In  translating  printing  and  disseminating  the  Scrip- 
tures and  other  religious  books  and  tracts,  school 
books  and  treatises  upon  science,  American  and  Brit- 
ish missions  also  hold  the  leading  place.  The  great 
dictionaries  in  China,  Japan,  Korea  as  well  as  in  In- 
dia and  Burmah,  are  mainly  their  work  also.  In  the 
work  of  famine  relief,  in  the  extension  of  railroad 
and  telegraph  lines,  in  the  encouragement  of  agri- 
culture and  the  industrial  arts,  and  in  the  general  up- 
lifting of  the  nations  with  which  they  have  to  deal, 
they  have  taken  the  lead.  All  this  is  said,  not  by  way 
of  boasting  or  exultation,  but  only  to  stimulate  the 
purpose  and  the  zeal  of  those  who  speak  and  teach 
the  English  language,  that  they  may  aspire  to  a 
broader  and  grander  work  for  the  Redeemer's  King- 
dom. 


THE  END 


282 


Princeton  Theological  Semmary-Speer  Lit 


1    1012  01092  3680 


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